Broken (revised)
by rhig122
Summary: Annabeth Chase was not your average young woman. She was ambitious and could most definitely take care of herself. It wasn't until an evening with a friend that changed her life. One for the better and one for the worse. She was about to have her world come crashing down around in her more ways than she could possibly imagine and trust is the only thing that will get her out alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

Rated T+ – Due to violence and adult situations (I do wonder on the rating of this so if someone with some experience higher rated fics could please message me I would appreciate it as I have a couple of questions! TIA!)

Bear with me as it has been well over a decade since I have written anything in the fan fiction world. My daughter is currently obsessed with PJO and since I have been reading and watching with her, my writing spark hit rather hard. I always pull just a few characters from stories and go from there; keeping as close to their personalities as possible within our world vs theirs. If you have any questions or anything please leave a review or message me and I will get back with you.

 **Broken**

The problem with friends is that they tend to sometimes let you down. Sometimes they even take advantage of you and they do it in the worst way possible. This is when you learn that the world is an evil place . . . one that sometimes you feel isn't even worth living in anymore. Other times you learn that your friends can be your biggest allies. They support you in every way possible even when you know they shouldn't. And then there are those friends who always turn into something more. They complete your heart and soul.

 **Chapter One**

The air was stale, almost causing her to choke on every breath. She looked around the large room and realized just how out of place she was in the bar. Everyone was drinking and having fun around her, conversing loudly with each other, smiling and laughing as if they really didn't have any troubles in this world.

She couldn't complain to terribly much as her life was pretty perfect in her eyes. At least for the most part. Her family was a bit off kilter but in reality, whose family wasn't? She had made peace with her life and the way she turned out ages ago and was glad to keep her distance.

She really wished Thalia would have asked to go to a Barnes & Noble so that she could chit chat as she dug through the books that comforted her. Instead she was sitting in a club, lost in her own thoughts, wishing she was elsewhere. Not exactly the best thing to be doing on your birthday.

"Come on girl! Loosen up! The night is young and you need a little fun in your life so drink up," the dark headed girl said as she set a small serving tray with four shots and two beers on it.

"Do we really have to do this tonight?"

"Yes," the dark headed girl replied eagerly. "It is after all your twenty-third birthday and despite whatever crap your family . . . for a lack of a better word has done to you today, **we** , my dear are going to have fun! Now drink up!"

She stuck her hands out to take the beer and shot that Thalia had ready for her mostly because she was scared of what her friend could possibly do if she didn't take them from her. Last year's birthday ended with both girls and a few extra friends pushing her car out of an overflowing creek bed after Thalia insisted that Annabeth needed to just 'live a little'.

"Happy birthday Annabeth! Let's have a good year shall we?!"

Annabeth nodded and downed her shot. She grimaced at the burning bitterness and then chased it with a quick chug of her Corona.

"I'm gonna go hit the dance floor, you wanna come?"

"No thanks. I am going to just hang here for a few. Get used to that spinning feeling from the tequila," she said with a small smile.

"Light weight! I will be back in a bit. Please try to have fun," Thalia called to her friend as she walked away.

Annabeth settled into her seat and watched the crowd as they passed her by. She never noticed that someone was behind her and nearly jumped out of her seat when a set of hands touched her shoulders and she quickly turned to face whoever it was behind her.

"Happy birthday," he said just loud enough for her to hear and then he set a small box on the table.

Annabeth blushed slightly and gave the young man a side hug. "Thank you Percy, and you didn't have to get me anything," she said as she felt the blush rise in her cheeks even more. She was suddenly very thankful for the terrible lighting in the club.

"I always do, don't I?" He said as he walked around her to sit in the closest seat to her.

Annabeth thought about it for a minute and even though she barely knew Percy, he had been around for every gift giving holiday for the last two years and always had something for her.

"Yeah, now that you mention it . . . thank you again Percy. I will open this when I get home. I don't want to lose it here," she said quietly.

She knew it was going to be something extravagant and she wanted to save herself the embarrassment that Thalia would lay on her if she saw the present. She picked up the light box and smiled slightly as she put it in her purse.

When Annabeth looked up, she could see a small amount of hurt in Percy's eyes but it seemed to quickly pass.

"So . . . ," she said mostly to the air around her but before Percy could say anything back to her a booming voice filled their air.

"Happy Birthday Ms. Chase! Let's make it a fun one!" A large sandy haired man said as he moved to wrap her in a large hug.

Annabeth let out an exasperated sigh and looked over in Percy's direction. His mind seemed to be linked to hers at the moment and she noticed that each of them had a hand on the remaining two tequila shots.

He winked at her and both of them downed the shots quickly to help ease themselves into a night with Luke.

"Thank you Luke," she responded as she tried to shake the burn in her throat while giving him a hug.

Luke draped his arm over her shoulder and tried to give her a kiss. Thankfully she turned to Percy at just the right moment and the kiss landed on the outer edge of her cheek rather than her lips as Luke intended.

"Oh Annabeth, can't you just play nice for one night?" Luke protested as he pulled away from her slightly.

Annabeth gave Percy a look that said, ' _There is definitely not enough tequila in the world for this_ ,' and a moment later he had his hand up hailing one of the bartenders. Percy exchanged a few words with him and just a minute later he was back with another small plate and a total of ten shots. She grinned from ear to ear at Percy and wondered how it was he knew what she needed at this given moment.

Luke, tried to get Annabeth's attention but he noticed she was not pulling her gaze from his friend.

"Annabeth!" Luke had to practically scream in her ear to even get her to acknowledge he was still there.

"What?" She shouted back a bit angrier than she had planned. She shrugged her shoulders slightly and said, "Sorry. The alcohol makes me weird some times."

"Let's go dance," Luke said as he began to drag her to the middle of the room.

"Oh, no thanks. I think I just want to hang out over here for now."

Luke was paying absolutely no attention to Annabeth and her desperate pleas to stay where she wanted. He had one goal in mind tonight and he was going to make it happen, even if that meant he had to force her to have a little fun.

Luke finally stopped in the middle of the dance floor with a slightly trailing Annabeth. The stop was so abrupt that when he turned around she slammed directly into him. "Careful babe, we have all night for that!"

"Please stop with the cheesy lines and puns. You know that won you absolutely no points last time. I'm honestly not sure why you thought they would work this time."

"Oh Annabeth, don't be such a dud. Do you ever have fun or do you just sit at a desk working all of the time?" Luke asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist, just in time for a slow dance.

To be nice, Annabeth slowly placed her arms around his neck. She really wanted away from this situation but she really hated being mean to people. Her highly analytical mind was quickly at work, trying to find a nice way to get her home even faster now but how could she do that without really hurting anyone's feelings tonight, especially Thalia who was only trying to be nice to her?

"I am going to take your lack of an answer to be that I am right and all you do is work. Work, work, work! Really Annabeth, what is the fun in that?"

"I happen to like what I do. I happen to be very good at it as well. Why do you have to rag on me all of the time Luke?"

"Because you're cute when you're angry," Luke said as he pulled Annabeth closer to him.

Annabeth allowed herself to be carried across the dance floor as her eyes searched the room for anyone that could save her. A few moments later her eyes landed on Percy.

' _Help me!_ ' She pleaded with him in her brain, praying that he could sense her need to be rescued.

* * *

Percy watched sadly as Luke pulled an unwilling Annabeth with him on the dance floor. Questions plagued him as to why he couldn't get her to even notice him as more than just Thalia's cousin and the guy who tagged along from time to time.

'What am I doing wrong,' Percy asked himself quietly and then he caught her gaze.

Her eyes were pleading with him, begging him to help her get away from Luke. He knew Luke could be annoying from time to time. A loud mouth pompous jerk even but he never thought that Annabeth would want help getting away from someone like Luke.

He quickly made his way out to the dance floor and tapped on Luke's shoulder.

"What Jackson? Can't you see it's my time with the birthday girl?"

"I can see that Luke, but she has a limited amount of time tonight and I would like my turn before she has to head off to her next destination," Percy said as he quickly reached for Annabeth's hands and put them around his neck. "We will see you back at the table in a few minutes."

Luke growled under his breath at Percy and quickly trudged off to their table and downed two shots in a row.

'Well that ought to make him a joy to be around,' Annabeth thought to herself as she watched Luke for a moment before turning her attention toward Percy.

"Well this has turned out to be an interesting night," Percy said slightly amused at how well his plan worked.

"Thank you for that Percy."

"For what?"

"For butting in when you did. I honestly can't stand Luke and his I am richer than you are, so please do everything I say, when I say to do it attitude."

"He's not that bad. The guy just really likes you and . . ."

"And he has absolutely no clue how to go about winning over a girl like me . . . or any girl for that matter."

Percy laughed slightly as he slowly lead her around the floor.

"So, what is on your agenda tonight Annabeth?"

"The usual. Stay here long enough to satisfy Thalia's need to make me happy and then head home to bed."

"A very sad night much like my own," Percy said as he nodded at her.

"It's not a sad night," she snapped back at him. "It's how I like my nights! What is wrong with that?"

Percy removed a hand from her waist and held it up in a gentle ' _I concede_ ' sort of gesture. "I didn't mean to offend you Annabeth. I just figured that someone who hangs out with my cousin must have some sort of wild side. She's not exactly the most . . ."

" **Normal** person in the world," Annabeth said with a small laugh.

"That is a much nicer way of putting it. I was going to say mentally stable," he said with a crooked grin.

Percy watched Annabeth carefully. Something about her intrigued him, and he wanted to tread lightly as he never really had a conversation with her that didn't involve Thalia or even Luke.

Annabeth in turn was looking at Percy intently. She had never really noticed just how green his eyes were before and she was suddenly mesmerized by them. The green in his eyes almost swirled around like the rip currents in the ocean but she was pretty sure that it was just the club lights messing with her slightly tipsy mind.

Annabeth suddenly snapped out of her little trance and realized that the slow song had ended and they were now just barely moving. She giggled slightly and said, "Looks like we better get back to the table before we get run over by someone."

Percy quickly snapped back to reality and grabbed her hand to lead her off the dance floor. He stopped suddenly and turned back to look at her.

"Annabeth," Percy started, but he stopped when he looked into her stormy gray eyes.

"Yes Percy?"

"Sorry," he said shaking his head. "Do you want to have some fun tonight? I don't mean anything Thalia-esque but just something fun."

Annabeth considered for a moment what her options were. _One_ , she could quickly tell them thank you for the evening and go home. _Two_ , she could stay until Thalia satisfied that she had done her job at giving Annabeth a wonderful birthday. This also meant that she was stuck with Luke for lord knows how long. _Three_ , she could go with Percy and live just a little. Option one was sounding really good to her at the moment but Percy looked at her again with those eyes and she decided that she would just live a little for once in her life. Not everything had to be structured and planned.

Annabeth flashed him a quick smile and replied with a simple, "Let's go!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

Please bear with me and all of the detail. I really need to set up Percy and Annabeth's friendship in these first three (maybe four if I don't change things up again) chapters. Things will pick up pace shortly, I promise! If you see any mistakes or anything of that nature please leave a review to let me know so that I can fix them.

 **Chapter 2**

Percy quickly led Annabeth back to the table so that they could gather their things but instantly wished that they could have just left without stopping.

Annabeth let go of his hand and moved to her barstool to gather her belongings when suddenly she was being pulled into Luke's lap. She looked at the table and realized that Luke had nearly finished off the shots in the few minutes they were out on the dance floor.

"Luke, would you please let me go?"

Annabeth for the most part was calm while she asked him but she had a feeling that this situation was about to get very ugly if she couldn't control it properly.

Luke tried to look at her but she could tell that he was completely hammered. His eyes had a slightly hazy look to them and she was suddenly scared by his gaze when he was finally able to focus on her eyes. It was almost as if his drunken gaze lusted after every last inch of her.

Annabeth glanced at Percy out of the corner of her eye and she could that he was unsure of how to handle the situation. She moved toward Luke's knees but he pulled her even closer into his lap.

Suddenly Luke's mouth was on hers and she instantly tried to pull away but was stopped by Luke's hands. One was pressing on her head and the other small of her back. She placed both hands on his chest pushed as hard as she could but he only held her tighter.

Annabeth quickly analyzed her situation and realized she was the perfect height to knee him in the groin since he had shifted forward in the chair and set her feet back on the ground. She figured this was going to be the only way to get him off of her not to mention the fact that he actually deserved what was coming to him. While this probably wasn't the proper way to deal with a creep in public but she had no choice.

Annabeth quickly repositioned her lower half and pulled her knee up hard and then pushed away from him again one more time.

Annabeth fell back hard into Percy's arms, nearly taking both of them to the ground as Luke fell forward. Luke was on the ground in front of the bar stool trying to get a breath back into his lungs but wasn't having much luck.

"Hey guys! What on earth is going on over here," Thalia asked as she dropped down next to Luke.

"I simply wanted my things and he pulled me in his lap and kissed me even after I asked him to stop," Annabeth replied flatly as Percy helped her back up.

The tequila mixed with beer was lingering on her lips and it disgusted her. She quickly grabbed a napkin off the table and tried to wipe her mouth off. "Ugh, that is never going to come off," she whispered to herself.

Percy quickly stepped over the fallen Luke and grabbed Annabeth's things for her and then went back to her side. "Here, take these and let's get out of here. I would rather leave Thalia with him than have to deal with his wrath once he can breathe again."

Annabeth quickly threw the strap to her purse over her shoulder and went to Thalia. "Thanks for the gift and trying tonight Thals. This mess on the floor though, not something I want to deal with. I'm headed out."

Thalia stood back up and stared blankly at her best friend. "Sorry," was all she could get out.

Annabeth leaned in for a hug and then quickly pulled away. She grabbed Percy's hand on more time and the two started out of the club.

"I can't believe he did that! I mean, seriously, what guy just grabs a girl who has no interest in him and just kisses her?"

"You know Percy, normally it's the girls complaining about this sort of thing . . . not the other way around," Annabeth replied with a slight smile as he maneuvered the two of them quickly out of the club.

Once out of the club and on the sidewalk, Percy finally stopped. "I am sorry. I was raised better than that and I know Luke was as well. I know he was drunk but what he did was not excusable."

Percy was practically fuming and Annabeth suddenly couldn't concentrate on what he was saying anymore. His eyes still seemed to be swirling and she chalked it up to adrenaline and what little alcohol she had managed to choke down tonight.

"Annabeth!" Percy said loud enough to turn heads of the people several feet away from them. "Are you listening?"

"Sorry. I was lost in thought for a minute," she said as she let her blonde curls fall in a curtain to hide her embarrassment.

"I said, you are going to have to watch your back now. I don't trust Luke. He's been known to do some pretty stupid things and he fully believes that his money will get him out of any predicament and thus far in life it has."

Annabeth frowned slightly and looked up at Percy. "I know. I only pray he has had too much to drink and can't remember what the hell happened in the morning." Annabeth looked down at her feet and then back at Percy.

"Well . . . do you still want to have some fun?" Percy asked her, wondering what she could possibly be thinking about that had her so far away from him at the moment.

"Oh, you don't think that excitement was fun enough? Because, I mean, I can take you back in and we can go for round number two! Only this time it's your turn to kiss him," Annabeth exclaimed a little too enthusiastically.

Percy's eyes crinkled in the corner and a small smile graced his lips. "Not. Funny."

"I thought it was," Annabeth said mostly to herself.

"Come on," Percy said as he stuck his hand out for Annabeth to take. "Would you like me to walk you to your car?"

"Ummm . . . yours please. I came with Thalia."

"Not a problem."

Percy quietly led Annabeth to his car, stealing glances of her along the way. She was absolutely beautiful in his eyes. Her blonde hair fell in soft curls just past her shoulders, her stormy gray eyes would sneak a peek at him from time to time and he would find a small blush hit his cheeks but he didn't care.

Percy suddenly stopped and pressed a button on his car remote. The Jeep Liberty next to him beeped and he quickly opened the passenger door for Annabeth. "Your carriage awaits my lady," he said while taking a slight bow and leading her into the car.

Annabeth laughed lightly and bopped him on the back of the head on her way into the car. "You are such a dork," she replied with a giggle.

"Glad to be of service," Percy laughed back at her. He quickly ran around the car and jumped in the driver's seat.

The two road in silence the ten minutes back to Annabeth's apartment and she quickly looked at Percy with worry in her eyes.

"I thought you said nothing Talia-esque!"

Percy laughed out loud and then looked at Annabeth seriously. "1. The fact that you think I am like that hurts my feelings Annabeth." Percy pouted at her but cut her off before she could start in on him. "B. You aren't going to be very comfortable in that get up where we are going so I thought you might want to change. 3. Well . . . I don't have a three but I wouldn't mind changing as well," Percy said as he leaned into the back seat and grabbed a gym bag from the floorboard behind Annabeth.

Annabeth blushed deeply when Percy had told her she had hurt his feelings but quickly realized that he was only messing with her. He was going to give her a run for her money at this rate and it was going to drive her insane but in a good way, or so she hoped.

"So are you going to tell me what we are doing or do I just have to hope I throw on the right outfit?"

"Jeans, shirt, tennis shoes. Comfortable Annabeth. We are going for casual and comfortable." Percy quickly climbed out of the car and ran around to open Annabeth's door for her.

"You know I can do that on my own," Annabeth said as she crawled out of the car.

"Yes but a lady should never have to open the door herself when there is a gentleman around." Percy smiled sheepishly at her as he said that last comment and Annabeth stared intently into his sea green eyes as they walked to the garage elevator.

"I really can't tell if you are being serious with me or if you are messing with me Jackson!"

"I am actually being serious now. My mother raised me to be a complete gentleman around any woman, whether I liked her or not."

The pair stood in silence for a few minutes and then the ding of the elevator interrupted their silence. The doors opened and Percy held his arm out to let Annabeth know that she was to enter first.

Annabeth wasn't sure what to make of Percy. He wasn't like the average guy roaming around the city. As she entered the elevator she quickly rounded the doors and hit the 5 button to head up to her apartment.

Percy slowly stepped in after and then stood next to her. He was just far enough away that he wasn't touching her but just close enough to feel his heat. Annabeth was now stealing glances of him out of the corner of her eye. She suddenly wanted to bury her hands in his dark, disheveled hair. ' _Keep it together girl! You barely know this man and you are ready to jump him . . . knock it off you idiot_ ,' she was screaming at herself. The only thing that Annabeth currently knew was that she needed out of that elevator. Never in her life had she ever had a connection with someone like that and it was beginning to scare her.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened and she was never so glad to see her door looking at her from across the hall.

Percy once again held his arm out for her and she was off with him trailing behind her. She quickly pulled her keys out of her purse and shoved them in the lock and then walked in, hitting a switch on the wall to her left as she threw her things on a small stand by the door.

"Welcome to casa de Annabeth. Sorry it's a mess. I've been busy and well, she's been neglected a bit." Annabeth walked forward through the small foyer which then opened up to her living room. "The guest bathroom is down that hall and first door on the right," Annabeth said as she pointed to the right.

Percy nodded and marched headed off to the bathroom to change his clothes.

Annabeth headed the other direction to her bedroom and threw herself down on the bed. ' _Oh my God, I need a cold shower!_ '

She decided lying there with her head buried in her pillow was a better idea, there was no time for a shower. After about a minute she jumped up and ran to her closet. "Hmmm . . . comfortable, comfortable," she repeated as she dug through her piles of clothes. Jeans were not a biggie, the problem was a shirt. She wanted to listen to him yet at the same time she wanted to impress him and finally she just growled at herself and went with a V-neck, three quarter length sleeve T-shirt. "And, I am off," She said to herself as she grabbed an elastic band off her nightstand.

Percy was already changed and waiting for her by the sofa.

"I didn't keep you long did I?"

Percy shook his head no with a smile. "Not at all."

Percy liked Annabeth much better like this. Nothing fancy, just simple and beautiful. He watched as she flipped her head over and gathered all of her hair together and wrapped an elastic band around it. A few curls didn't make it into the pony tail and framed her face.

Percy needed out of her apartment before he did something he was going to regret. "Let's go! We won't get to do a whole lot due to the time but it will still be fun, I promise!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan nor Photography by Ed Sheeran.**

Another chapter for you lovelies! Feel free to leave reviews or ask questions at the end of the chapters. I will be flying through updates on this as my free time will be coming to an end soon and I won't be able to update near as much.

Anywho, enjoy!

 **Chapter 3**

Annabeth leaned back into the seat of Percy's car and found that she was humming to herself slightly. She absolutely hated surprises but she didn't want to tell Percy that when he was being so incredibly kind to her right now. Her only line of defense was to lean back, close her eyes and hum.

"How much longer?"

Percy looked over at Annabeth, she looked a little tense and suddenly he was unsure of his plan. "Maybe ten minutes," he replied. Thankfully traffic was light for it being a Saturday night and he was able to fly down FDR Drive for a good chunk of the drive, reducing their travel time from an hour to about thirty minutes.

Annabeth just nodded at him and continued to hum to herself.

"What are you humming? That sounds familiar." Suddenly it hit Percy, he turned on the radio before Annabeth could answer. He quickly flipped it over to auxiliary and grabbed his phone.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked a little surprised at his sudden urgency.

"This is the song you were humming, isn't it?"

The music started and Annabeth nodded and then made a funny face.

"What's wrong," he asked quickly?

"That's the song but that's not the original. The original is by Ed Sheeran and this is definitely not my red headed wonder!"

Percy laughed at her shaking his head. "Your red headed wonder huh?! I am sorry I don't know who this Ed Sheeran is but that is because I have a younger sister I haul around for my mom and I can tell you he's not a Disney Channel star!"

"You poor thing," Annabeth said with mock sympathy. "That is sweet you do that for your mom though. How old is your sister?"

"She's eight going on nine in October. I will have to hide you from her though. The second she meets you she will be attached to you like glue. Thalia barely gets out of the house alive."

"Is she anything like you," Annabeth asked, truly curious about Percy and his life. She knew everything about Thalia but absolutely nothing about her cousin sitting right next to her.

"She's a handful. A little soccer star who would rather run around in dresses. She doesn't cause near as much trouble as I did but then again I didn't have an older sibling running around covering for my butt either."

Annabeth giggled and leaned back in the seat all the way, closing her eyes and allowing the song to wash over her.

 _'And you can fit me inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen,_  
 _Next to your heartbeat where I should be,_  
 _Keep it deep within your soul,_  
 _And if you hurt me that's okay baby only words bleed,_  
 _Inside these pages you just hold me and I won't ever let you go._  
 _When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me,_  
 _Under the lamppost back on Sixth Street,_  
 _Hearing you whisper through the phone,_  
 _Wait for me to come home.'_

The song ended just as Percy pulled into a parking spot. Annabeth opened her eyes to the sight of Coney Island in front of her. Percy watched as her stormy gray eyes shone with excitement and then quickly diminished.

"Percy, look at the time. The park closes in thirty minutes."

"It's okay, I have a plan," Percy responded as he jumped out of the car and quickly ran around to let Annabeth out of the car. He grabbed her hand, shut the door, set the alarm and then started off in a jog. "Hurry, follow me!"

"Like I have any choice," She said laughing as they ran toward the entrance of the park.

* * *

Annabeth sighed in content and leaned into Percy's side and took a deep breath of the cool night air. The Ferris wheel stopped and they were staring out at the ocean.

"I can't believe you were able to talk the owner into keeping the park owner into keeping this place open an extra two hours"

"Yeah well when your dad donates to the park, you can do pretty much anything you want a couple of times a year."

"Well it's gorgeous tonight and I am glad you threw some weight around. This is actually the best birthday present ever," she exclaimed and then something dawned on her and her excitement faded. "Oh Percy, I forgot to open your present!"

"It's okay. You can open it when we get back. I figured this would definitely be a better alternative to the fiasco at the club. I still think you need to watch your back with Luke though. He's not going to forgive you easily."

Annabeth shook her head. "Honestly, I am not worried about the creep. Yeah he's a friend, if you want to call him that. I have known him forever and even as kids he annoyed the hell out of me. Generally he doesn't cross that boundary with me, it's just when he drinks he turns into an ever bigger ass than he already is."

Percy sat up a little bit straighter and turned slightly to the right so that he could get a better look at Annabeth. "I am just worried is all, he's done some pretty awful things and I don't want you added to the list."

Annabeth sighed and looked into Percy's eyes, the ocean reflecting back in them, or was that how they actually were? She wasn't sure but she shook her head and asked, "Why do you care so much?"

Percy carefully pushed a loose curl back behind her ear and whispered, "I just do. I can't explain it but just promise me you will be careful."

Annabeth thought about it for a moment. She leaned in to give Percy a hug as best as she could with the ride bar being in her way. "I will."

* * *

"Do you mind," Annabeth asked as she leaned forward to mess with the radio.

"Not at all. If you want you can go through the music on my phone and see if there is anything on there you like." Percy carefully pulled his phone out of his pocket while driving and held it out for her to take.

Annabeth took the phone and then hit the home screen button. She tried to navigate her way thought the iPhone but wasn't having much luck. "Help me please. Where on earth is your music at on this thing?"

Percy laughed at her and told her which icon she needed. "Android users . . . you guys know nothing!"

Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him and then scolded him, "Eyes on the road mister!"

Annabeth spent a few minutes scrolling thru his music and laughed. "I think your sister took over your phone, everything on here looks like a teeny bopper preteen girl picked it out."

Percy mumbled under his breath and she was pretty sure he was cursing his little sister. "We are almost back to your place, unless you want to go do something else," he said cautiously. He didn't want her to think he was trying to get into her pants.

Annabeth was desperate to keep Percy around a little longer. She wasn't ready to leave him for the night as his presence was calming and seemed to help her feel grounded, something she hadn't felt in a long time. "I have a pretty extensive movie collection, you up for a little wine and a movie?"

Percy smiled back at Annabeth, "sounds like a plan."

* * *

Thalia quickly ran up to her best friend's door. Percy's jeep was parked in her usual spot and she suddenly wasn't sure if wanted to just barge into her second home.

She readied her key, took a deep breath and then prepared herself for the worst and she unlocked the door and quietly walked into the apartment.

* * *

The sun was shining through the living room at just the right angle that it caused Annabeth to go blind the instant she opened her eyes. She quickly shut them and then stretched but realized there was something holding on to her.

'Oh dear God, what happened last night?' Her brain was doing circles but she couldn't for the life of her remember. She shook her head lightly to help clear the haze and opened one eye. She looked down and saw Percy's arm draped lightly over her. 'Plus side, I am fully clothed!' she thought excitedly. 'Nothing entirely stupid happened.'

She felt Percy's arm lift slightly and she turned back to see him stretching.

"Good morning sleepy head," he said quietly as he pushed a few curls out of her face.

"Good morning," she replied as a blush rose into her cheeks. She stretched again and then sat up slowly. "Oh the sofa was such a bad idea," she trailed off. "Not the most comfortable place to sleep in this house, I know that now."

Percy chuckled and then he heard the key in the lock. "And cue Thalia in three, two . . ." Percy let his voice trail off just as Thalia walked into the living room.

"What on God's green earth is going on here? Never mind I don't have time for that right now. Annabeth you have a problem."

"Yeah, I need to change the locks and then remember not to give you key," Annabeth said jokingly.

"We will discuss that retort later," Thalia said as she crossed her arms and moved to the big oversized chair next to the sofa. "Luke is pissed."

Percy threw his arms up in the air and looked from Annabeth to Thalia and back as if to say ' _See I told you so Annabeth!_ '

"I don't care if he is pissed. The jerk kissed me without my permission. He got what he deserved." She got up and walked to the window and crossed her arms over her chest and looked out at the city.

"I told her last night he wasn't going to be too thrilled. Did he tell you anything else?" Percy was on the edge of the sofa leaning in close to Thalia now.

"Other than she would have to pay, no. That was it."

"Great. There's a mad man out on the loose." Percy shook his head and looked at the back of Annabeth, wondering desperately how he could save her from Luke's upcoming wrath.

"I don't know what you two are so worried about. I can take care of myself you know?" Annabeth turned around to face them. She slowly walked back to the two of them and sat down next to Percy so that she was technically next to him and Thalia.

"I know you can take care of yourself. You proved that last night, it's just that you have awoken a beast that I wouldn't unleash on my worst enemy," Thalia said taking one of her hands.

"What are you talking about? I have known Luke forever and he's never been " **dangerous** ".

Percy took her other hand in his and said, "Let me tell you a little story. It's a story that ended badly for everyone but Luke. His last girlfriend was a sweet girl. Never complained about anything but one night another guy started talking to her at the club they were out at, when they got home that night Luke hit her so hard she died from her injuries. Four blows was all it took. Two to the head and two to the kidneys. All of the evidence was there and he was slated to be put away but something happened, the evidence was all screwed up and I am not sure what else happened, but a murderer walked away that day. He was eighteen when that happened. His money got him out of trouble, kept everything out of the media and no one else knew any different. His parents paid off the girl's parents and they moved away not long after the trial was declared a mistrial."

"And how come no one ever said anything. You aren't any better than he is," Annabeth screamed as she got up and moved away from the pair.

"I haven't told anyone because he's threatened my family Thalia said sadly. Percy, thankfully is great at playing the idiot in this whole thing but I got on his bad side once. I don't want to ever be on that bad side again. He told me if I ever did anything to lose his trust Alexa would die."

"Who is Alexa?"

"My sister," Percy said quietly. "Thals was her nanny of sorts for a while so she became Luke's choice of ammo. Of course I am not supposed to know about that. I have been playing dumb ever since Thalia told me what happened."

Percy got up and moved toward Annabeth. She took a step backward and then stopped. "So I guess I really do have to watch myself now," she said defeated.

"Don't worry. Thalia and I have your back. We aren't going to let anything happen to you." He held his hands out to her in hopes she would take them.

Annabeth hated relying on other people. They had a tendency to let you down but she didn't have much choice this time around. She could go to the cops but what would she tell them? ' _Hi, rumor has it there is this guy who is making threats against me, can you help me with that by any chance?_ ' That would only lead to a restraining order and essentially they were a joke. She decided for now her best course of action was Percy and Thalia.

Annabeth slowly extended her hands out to Percy and he pulled her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you, Annabeth."

"You promise?"

"I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

So now it beings...a crazy scary world. Read, review and enjoy!

 **Chapter 4**

Annabeth sat on the floor in front of her sofa and leaned back. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to clear her mind. It had been a full two weeks since Annabeth kneed Luke in the groin and she was sure that she was going to get out of this ordeal unscathed but the phone calls started yesterday morning. They weren't anything threatening, just some creep doing some crazy, heavy mouth breathing but it was enough to start freaking her out.

She decided that she wasn't going to get any work done right now and began packing away all of the blue prints she had spread across the coffee table.

Annabeth began pacing the living room floor, "What to do? What to do?" When suddenly she was interrupted by a knock on her door. She quickly ran over to the door and peered through the peep hole. A smile spread across her face as she opened the door.

"Hey beautiful," Percy said as he held his arms out for Annabeth to give her a hug.

Annabeth threw herself into his arms a little more forceful than she had planned.

"Hey, what's wrong," He asked as she gently pushed her hair out of her face.

"It's just been a long morning. Work is stressing me out on top of worrying about Luke and I just needed a release," she sighed into his shoulder.

Percy guided her back into the apartment and led her to the sofa where she sat down and patted the spot next to her. Percy sat down and gently draped his arm around her shoulder. He looked down at the coffee table and counted fifteen different blue print tubes on the table and floor. "You know you can call me at any time. You wouldn't be bothering me. And no wonder you are stressed with work!"

Annabeth giggled and sat up. "It's not all mine. Several of the tubes are the current blue prints of an aquarium in Texas. There are four firms across the country trying to get this rebuild. They want to expand and want everything to mimic not only the natural environment for every animal species but they have a special request as well. They want the dolphins to have the typical training pool like you would see at Sea World but they want the holding tank attached to it to open up to the cove behind it so that the dolphins have ocean freedom as well. This is something right up your alley isn't it?"

"I am actually working on that project," Percy said excitedly. "I hope you get this contract! I would love to be able to work with you on this one."

Annabeth beamed at him and leaned back into him again. She felt at ease with him, a warm, soothing calm washing over her. It was almost soothing enough to put her to sleep, but just almost as Percy's pounding heart was distracting her.

"Okay, so I know we aren't dating or anything and we still barely know each other but would you mind meeting the family today," he asked cautiously.

Annabeth looked up at the side of Percy's face and wondered what on earth he was going on about. "What do you mean 'meet the family today'? Are you asking me out on a date to your parents' house?"

Percy chuckled at the thought but said, "No. Actually my sister has a tournament that starts in an hour. Mom and Paul can only stay for the first game and since Thalia is at work, it's my turn to be her cheerleader. I was wondering if you wanted to come keep me company."

Annabeth looked at the pile of work on her coffee table and back at Percy and then back at the work load one more time. _'I don't have to be logical all of the time,'_ she thought. "A break from work would be nice. Your family won't mind me intruding?"

"Please, mom will just be excited by the fact that I am bringing a friend along instead of sitting there by myself."

"Awe, poor baby," Annabeth said as she teased him.

"Come on then. We need to go," Percy said looking at his watch. "Traffic is going to make this a little bit of a drive."

"You were pretty confident I was going to say yes, weren't you?" A smile graced Annabeth's lips as she slowly stood up and pulled Percy with her. "What would you have done if I said I couldn't go?"

Percy was facing Annabeth, one hand in hers from when she helped pull him to standing. "I would have said okay," Percy admitted sadly.

"Oh," was all Annabeth could managed. She looked down at her feet.

Percy put his free hand under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "I am not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do Annabeth. If you want to hang out with me simply because you want to that is fine. I have waited for what feels like a lifetime for you to notice that I was alive and I will continue to wait for you." Percy honestly had no intention of spilling his guts to her at that given moment but what was done was done and there was no turning back now. He wasn't letting her go nor was he going to be the reason she pushed him away if it came to that.

Annabeth looked deep into Percy's sea green eyes, a heavy blush staining her cheeks. Percy had moved his hand from her chin and was playing with the small gray pearl on her necklace, the birthday present he had given her. She moved her face closer to his and then rest her cheek on his and whispered, "Thank you." She lightly kissed his cheek and she realized that it was taking every last bit of energy she had to not touch his lips with hers.

"Come on," she said lightly. "We'd better get going." And with that she pulled him toward the door.

* * *

Annabeth sat quietly in the booth as she listened to Alexa give Percy a detailed run down of her entire week. She explained to Annabeth that she usually did that at Sunday dinner but Percy wasn't coming tomorrow and so she had to catch him up on everything in her life.

Annabeth watched the girl carefully. She resembled her mother whereas Percy took after his father. She had long light brown hair that her mother had expertly French braided down the right side and then pulled it back toward the center where it wrapped around a large bun. She had beautiful amber color eyes that seemed to glow with life. She could read every emotion she was sharing with Percy just in her eyes alone. Annabeth had also been banned to the other side of the table because at the current point in time she was not trustworthy enough to actually sit next to Percy in Alexa's presence.

"Can you believe we are on to round three?" Alexa said excitedly to both Annabeth and Percy. She quickly lowered her voice and continued, "My team sucks horribly. They like to make me do all of the work but for some reason today everyone is working together. Hopefully we get out of the tourney in at least third place!"

Percy chuckled and went to ruffle her hair but she knew what was coming and backed away from him. " **DON'T. TOUCH. THE. HAIR** ," she growled at him. "It took mom almost thirty minutes to do this for me."

"I honestly don't know why she would spend so much time doing all of this," Percy exclaimed as he moved his arms all around above her head, "just so you can run around and get all sweaty and gross and slam a ball around on your head," he continued jokingly.

Alexa shot him a dirty look and turned to Annabeth in an attempt to let her brother know she was not pleased with him at that moment. "So, Annabelle right?"

"It's Annabeth actually."

"Sorry. So Annabeth, are you dating my brother? Are you the reason he's not coming to dinner tomorrow night because if so you can just run along now," Alexa said indignantly as she waved her hand at Annabeth.

"Alexa Elizabeth Blofis, that is absolutely none of your business and I swear the rudest thing I have ever heard come out of your little mouth," a familiar voice said from behind Percy.

Annabeth glanced up saw Thalia making her way to the booth. "I mean if they won't even tell me what their status is at the moment then you have no right to know those things," she said as she slid into the booth beside Annabeth.

Percy shook his head. "You owe Annabeth an apology," he said angrily as he pulled the girl out of his lap and dropped her into the booth seat next to him.

"Sorry Annabeth," Alexa whispered.

Annabeth nodded and said, "It's okay." She could tell the girl didn't mean it though as her amber orbs completely gave her away.

* * *

An hour later the group left their booth and followed the rest of Alexa's team out of the diner and began to make their way back to the soccer field.

Percy walked up to Annabeth and his hand easily found hers. Their fingers intertwined and both of them smiled as they had become the back of the group.

"I thought you said she would like me?"

Percy laughed and Alexa jerked her head back to see what was going on. Her amber eyes threw imaginary daggers at Annabeth and Percy motioned with a finger for her to turn back around.

"She is being awful clingy today," Percy thought out loud.

"She's not being clingy Percy, she's jealous!"

"No she's not! What does she have to be jealous of," he asked sincerely.

Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "Men, you will always be clueless even when it comes to your siblings. How many girlfriends have you had Percy? I am willing to bet that any you have had you never brought around your sister, am I right?"

Percy just nodded and started at her in disbelief.

"It's not fair to bring someone into a child's life only to have them disappear, especially when they become attached to that someone."

"And how are you such an expert on the topic," he asked as he pulled her closer to him.

"My mom used to do it me. It's a feeling I know all too well," she sighed.

They continued on in silence to the stop light when Annabeth suddenly jumped. She quickly pulled away from Percy and stuck her hand in her back pocket. She pulled out her phone and looked at the caller ID. "Ugh," she growled to herself. "It's my dad. Go ahead and I will catch up in just a few." With a small shove she sent Percy on his way with the rest of the group.

"Hi dad," Annabeth said quietly.

"Hello Annabeth. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

"Thanks dad but you do realize that my birthday was two weeks ago right?"

There was an awkward silence and Mr. Chase responded with, "well happy **belated** birthday then. So tell me, whose birthday is today then?"

"I don't know dad." A small smiled graced her lips as she shook her head. She looked up and saw Percy waving at her to hurry up. "Look dad, I have to go. I'm at an event with Thalia and her family. I will see you soon. Love you, bye."

Annabeth quickly hung up and shoved the phone back in her pocket and started across the street after she checked all the lights.

Alexa met her halfway and grabbed her left hand. "Come on! We can't be late or I don't get to start!"

Annabeth heard the car before she saw and it never registered that it was aimed right at her and Alexa.

She looked up to see a black Charger making its way straight toward the two of them and it wasn't slowing down.

Thalia and Percy were in the road as well, screaming but their screams weren't registering. The only thing she could concentrate on was the pain. It was everywhere. Her left arm was screaming in agony as were her legs, back and head. Everything was spinning and she couldn't focus. It was loud, so very loud in her head and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and drown out all of the noise and pain.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

Sorry that there is quite a bit of filler in this chapter. I have so much going on in my head that I am having a hard time setting everything up that is to come. I have revised the next 3 chapters 4 times already! Anywho, read, review and enjoy!

 **Chapter 5**

Percy motioned for Annabeth to hurry and before he could stop her Alexa was marching back out into the crosswalk. She stopped in the middle and grabbed Annabeth's hand and started dragging her back to the group. She was telling her something but Percy couldn't make it out.

Percy heard the roar of an engine and he looked up to see a black Charger headed right in their direction. Thalia saw it too and the pair jumped into action before thinking about anything else.

Thalia got to Alexa and yanked her hard from Annabeth's grasp and threw her behind her just as the car whizzed by them. Percy and Annabeth were not as lucky.

Percy had just managed to grab Annabeth's left hand and was trying desperately to pull her so that she wouldn't take the full force of the car straight on. He managed to pull her hard enough in an arch that the car only hit her leg, but between the force of Percy's pull and the car, she hit the ground hard taking Percy with her. There was nothing to cushion the blow as she literally went from standing to being on her back in a matter of seconds.

The car rushed past them and everywhere people were screaming. Percy heard what sounded like little girls crying and he got up quickly, which was a mistake. Hitting the ground caused a little more damage than he thought and he turned to find Thalia.

"Thalia! Thalia," He screamed. His eyes scanned the crowd and she hollered something back at him. He wasn't sure what she said.

Percy clumsily made his way to Annabeth and was almost afraid to look. He knelt down next to her, calling her name. Her eyes were glazed over and he knew she was about to pass out. "Thalia, **HELP ME!** "

Thalia came running over with Alexa close on her heels. "I called 911. There is a truck on the way." Her voice wavered and she leaned over her best friend.

Alexa made her way to the top of Annabeth's head and looked into her glassy gray eyes. "I'm sorry Annabeth. I didn't mean to be mean to you!" The child was suddenly crying and Thalia tried to pull her away to no avail.

Percy was leaning close to Annabeth's head now, whispering to her that she would be just fine.

"P . . . p . . . Percy! She's bleeding!" Alexa was a snot faced mess at this point. She couldn't control the emotions racing through her.

It was at that point that Annabeth closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. Percy was trying not to panic. He was praying that it was nothing more than a concussion and that once the ambulance got there she would be just fine but the hit to the ground was hard and he was worried.

"Thalia, if there's nothing wrong with her take her back to the coach and make her play that game. She doesn't need to be here for all of this," he barked at his cousin.

Thalia just stared at him blankly.

" **THALIA** ," He screamed at her. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, "Yes, sorry."

"Make sure she's okay. Do what I say, please." He was pleading with her as he nodded toward Alexa.

Thalia quickly got up and scooped up her baby cousin and disappeared into the crowd with her.

Percy put his attention back on Annabeth and a short haired woman who was now positioned at Annabeth's head. He watched as she gently lifted her head and placed what looked like a wadded up T-shirt under her.

"You aren't supposed to move them," was all that Percy could mumble.

"It's okay. I'm a nurse. I didn't move her much. We just need something to help slow the bleeding.

Percy just nodded at her. He never realized he had scooped up Annabeth's hand and was massaging her knuckles with his thumb.

* * *

Percy opened an eye to see who was coming in the room now. He wasn't in the mood to be questioned by anyone so he had been pretending to be asleep to avoid any such conversations. He closed his eye and pushed back in the chair. It was just Annabeth's nurse and he felt himself relax.

"Hello there. Nice to see your eyes!" He heard the nurse say. His eyes flew open and he turned to see Annabeth trying to sit up a little bit. Her usually creamy, tan skin was suddenly very green and Percy had no time to get up and comfort her.

Thankfully the nurse was quick and had a trash can ready and under her just as the violent retching began.

Percy tried desperately to ignore the sound as it made him want to retch himself. He carefully placed himself next to Annabeth and held what he could of her hair back for her. He wasn't sure what he should say to her.

When she was finally done, she leaned back into the bed and winced as tears pushed their way out of her closed eyes. Percy held her hand as he did before, massaging her knuckles with his thumb.

Annabeth sniffled and whispered, "That was the absolute worst ending for a date ever Jackson."

Percy couldn't help himself and he laughed for the first time in four days. He carefully leaned over her and placed his head on her chest. "You scared the hell out of me Chase. Don't ever do that to me again!"

Annabeth sighed and said, "At this point, I can't make any promises. You seem to be dangerous to my health."

"The perks of dating Percy Jackson," he said while flashing her smile.

Annabeth smiled down at him and then the smile faded. "You're hurt." She said quietly.

His right arm was in a sling, allowing his dislocated and now relocated shoulder a chance to rest and heal. "I'm fine," he whispered to her. "Just a dislocated shoulder. No biggie." Percy lifted his arm and wiggled it around a little and lost his smile only for a moment as he winced in pain.

"You're a terrible liar Percy," she replied back, closing her eyes to shield herself from the harsh light the nurse turned on. "What about Alexa? Did Thalia get her out of the way in time?" Annabeth's voice was full of worry.

"She's fine. She may need therapy for the rest of her life but Thalia got her out of the way just in time. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to do the same for you," Percy said as he picked up her hand and started rubbing on her knuckles again.

"So do we know who was in the car?"

Just as Percy was about to answer there was a knock on the door and Annabeth's doctor entered the room. "Miss Chase, I am glad to see you awake finally. Mr. Jackson, I am going to ask you to wait here, I need to run her down for an MRI. While the throwing up after a head injury is sometimes common, I want to double check there is no more swelling."

Percy nodded and pulled Annabeth's hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "I'll be here when you get back."

* * *

Three days later Annabeth was back in her apartment. While thankful to get back home and out of the hospital, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be there alone anymore.

"How's the knee?"

"Throbbing a little bit from the walk from the bedroom to here. Can you toss me that pillow Thal?"

Thalia chunked the pillow at her friend lightly and went to the door to let Percy in who was knocking on the door franticly. "You would think he had something important to tell us at the rate he's beating the door down!" She quickly opened the door and looked at her cousin loaded down with bags and a drink carrier.

"Don't just look at me Thal! Help!"

Thalia laughed and grabbed a couple of bags from Percy and then stopped him. "Look, she's obsessed with who was driving the car and beyond convinced that it was Luke's handiwork. I don't doubt that it was, especially seeing as how she got about twenty phone calls today from a blocked number and it's a creepy mouth breather," Thalia spilled out quickly.

Percy sighed, "She didn't tell me about the calls."

"Me either. I happened to pick up her phone when she was napping earlier. I wasn't sure if it was work or not so I answered it expecting to take a message for her."

"Let her bring it up. I don't want to stress her out more than what she needs right now. Let's go before she gets suspicious of us."

Percy quietly walked into the living room and noticed Annabeth stretched out on the sofa, several pillows under her left knee. She appeared to be sleeping but her eyes popped open the instant he set the bags of food down.

He loved how her gray eyes lit up whenever he was with her but today there was something different in her eyes, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Percy sat down on the little space of sofa next to her and leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Hungry?"

"Very," She replied with a yawn.

The group ate silently, and when finished Annabeth yawned again. "I hate these drugs, I can't stay awake and yet the pain doesn't go away," she groaned into Percy's shoulder.

"And with that, I think I am going to call it a night. Have fun with babysitting duty Percy," Thalia said jokingly.

"Thanks Thals, and remind me when you are in need to ditch you too," Annabeth said as she stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Night Thals. See you tomorrow," Percy said yawning now.

Thalia grabbed her things and headed toward the door. "Night guys," she called as she walked out and shut the door behind her.

"Thank God! I never thought she was going to leave," Percy exclaimed.

Annabeth smiled and leaned back into Percy's chest. She closed her eyes and whispered, "You totally aren't getting lucky tonight Jackson!"

"At the risk of sounding cheesy, I am. I have you here still despite being hit by a car, a busted spleen, broken wrist, and a massive concussion. I am with you tonight and that makes me lucky."

"You're such a sap," Annabeth said as she looked up at Percy. "But you're my sap." She carefully pulled his head down toward her with her good arm and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

There was a surge of energy that rushed through her body and suddenly she wanted more. She let her fingers wander up the back of his neck and then entwined her fingers in his hair. Something she had been wanting to do for quite some time.

Percy closed his eyes and had to breathe deep and slowly. She was getting to him and he was not about to go down that road with her in pain.

Annabeth pulled him closer again, this time resting her forehead on his and she started to get lost in his sea green eyes. She couldn't resist the urge any longer and she pressed her lips against his. She could feel his shock but it was only for a moment as he returned the kiss. Somewhere in the pit of her stomach she felt things she couldn't even begin to describe. It was wonderful and frightening all at the same time.

The moment was spoiled though by her ringing phone. Neither one wanted to pull away but by the fourth ring she gave up and pulled away from him slowly. She grabbed her phone and looked at the caller ID and had to resist throwing up her dinner.

"Hello Luke," She said coldly.

"Awe, what's the matter sweet cheeks. Not happy to hear from me?"

"Actually . . . ," she started but her cut her off before she could finish her thought.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing? That little belated birthday gift didn't go quite as I expected but hey it's the thought that counts right?"

"What the hell are you talking about," she questioned. She then quickly pulled her phone away from her ear and put it on speaker.

"Don't play dumb with me Annabeth! You disrespected me out in public and for that you have to pay," He yelled at her.

Percy could feel her tense in his lap and he started to rub her back to hopefully help calm her down. In reality he was calming himself down. He didn't want Luke to know he was listening and it was taking all he had to not yell at him.

"And what do I have to do to get you off my back," her voice was shaking slightly as she asked him, truly afraid of what his answer was going to be.

"Marry me."

Annabeth couldn't help it, but a fit of giggles escaped her mouth before she could stop them. "You're insane. I am never going to marry you Luke and you know that," she spat back at him.

"Then I guess you will have to take your punishment like a big girl."

"And what if I take this to the cops?"

"A. Annie, you wouldn't dare. B. I have the cops in my back pocket. All I have to do is flash a little money and your complaint goes away. So what are you going to do now?"

Annabeth was in shock. She really didn't believe Percy when he said that Luke had previously paid off the police force but hearing it from Luke's own mouth confirmed her worst fears.

"So what's it going to be Annie?"

"Fuck you Luke," Annabeth screamed at him, "and it's Annabeth!"

She quickly hung up the phone and chunked it across the room and turned her head into Percy's shoulder and started to cry.

Percy hugged her close and tried to calm her but nothing was working. 'It's going to be a long night,' he thought as he allowed Annabeth to continue crying.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan no anything from Ed Sheeran's Photography.**

Sorry there is a bit of filler in this chapter. There is some pretty rough stuff coming up to which I think I might need to change the rating back to M. Please leave a review letting me know what constitutes M rated material in your eyes. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much to those who are marking this as a favorite and to the rest of you readers out there! Read, review & enjoy!

 **Chapter 6**

Two weeks later, Annabeth found herself walking to her apartment alone for the first time. Both Percy and Thalia were still at work and she was allowed to head home early for once. She figured this would be a good time to finish up the last minute changes to the Texas project. She had called to let them both know but all she got was the voice mail for both of them.

The hallway to her apartment was eerily silent and she knew she was causing herself to panic for no reason. She hadn't seen or heard from Luke since the last phone call, and while she knew he was planning something, he wouldn't dare show his face where so many people could hear her scream.

She attempted to get her keys out of her bag but it wasn't happening with the amount of blueprints in her hands, plus she still hadn't gotten used to the cast on her left hand. She decided it would just be easier to drop everything than it would be to try and balance things and kill her hand more as it was screaming in pain at her again. That was when she realized she was being watched.

She was about to turn around to see who was staring at her when a large body slammed into her and shoved her up against her door. A large arm wrapped around her head so that his hand could cover her mouth to muffle any noise she made to keep nosey neighbors at bay.

Annabeth tried to use the door for leverage and push him off of her but he was too strong for her. Her broken wrist was protesting as she used the tips of her fingers sticking out of the cast to push back on the door and she knew this pain was causing her to not think clearly.

"I told you that you were going to have to pay for what you did to me," Luke hissed in her ear. "This is just a little reminder that I am waiting for the right moment. Don't let your guard down Annie." A smirk ran across his face as she struggled against him. "I like it when you fight back! I am going to have to hold off a little longer though, I don't think you are quite strong enough to give it your all right now."

Annabeth was trying to scream into Luke's hand but he had so much force on her that she just couldn't make a noise. She could barely breathe as it was with his stubby fingers pushed under her nose and over her mouth. Panic was setting in quickly as she began to squirm and try and fight her way out from under his weight. Little squeaks of sound escaped her throat but they never made is past Luke's hand.

Just as suddenly as he was there, shoving her into the door he was gone. The pressure released off of her body and she instantly fell to the ground and began sucking in huge gulps of fresh air. Annabeth looked behind her and saw him glaring at her from inside the elevator. 'Don't let him see you cry,' was all she could think.

"Remember Annie, I'm watching! Ditch Jackson and come with me and all this will be over," he growled at her as the elevator doors closed.

As soon as the doors closed she allowed herself to collapse, the tears falling from her eyes in uncontrollable streams. She searched almost blindly for her keys in her bag and then quickly unlocked the door. In a fit of rage she shoved everything inside the apartment foyer and then crawled inside, not having the energy to stand. She shut the door, locked both locks and let the panic take her over.

After what felt like a lifetime to Annabeth, she finally stood. She checked her watch and realized it would still be another hour before anyone would be over to sit with her. The panic she had managed to cry off was back. She quickly ran into the living room.

"Grounding . . . I need grounding," Annabeth said she paced her floor furiously. Her breathing was quick and shallow and she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Five things. Five things. Five things I can see." She stopped pacing for a moment and looked around the spacious room. "Books, lamp, sofa, blue prints, television," she said quietly and she started pacing again. "Four things I can touch," she said desperately to herself. She moved to the book case and touched her favorite architecture book. She then moved to the sofa and touched her favorite satin throw pillow, then on to the over-sized chair and ran her finger tips along the suede of the chair and finally across the fuzzy blanket hanging over the arm.

Annabeth could feel her heart rate slow but only slightly. She needed to continue on with the grounding for it to be fully effective. "Three things I can hear," she to the empty room. "Shit, it's too quiet in here for me to hear anything!" She forced herself to listen and the only thing she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her chest. "No, no, no!" She screamed at herself and the panic was starting to rise again. Then she heard a small click and the sound of the AC unit circulating cool air throughout her home. She walked down the hallway toward her guest bathroom and heard the sound of water dripping in the sink. ' _That's two_ ,' she thought, ' _one more to go_.' She then ran back down the hall to her room and listened as bubbles made their way to the top of the fish tank. "Three!"

"Now, two things I can smell!" Annabeth ran to her bathroom and sprayed her favorite perfume into the air. The light citrus scent of lemon hit her and she was able to take in a slow deep breath but it only lasted a moment. She quickly ran back out to her living room and grabbed the pillow Percy was using the night before. She inhaled deeply and caught the faintest scent of the ocean. Suddenly she needed Percy right then and there. She was panicking again. "Last one . . . something I can taste!" She ran to the kitchen and found a peppermint in the candy dish on the counter.

"This isn't working," She shouted to her empty apartment after she finished the peppermint. Suddenly she remember something her mother once told her.

 _Annabeth was curled up in a ball on the floor of their entertainment room. She had her knees to her chest and was rocking furiously front to back. Tears were pushing out of the corners of her eyes. Her mother had told her only moments ago that her father won sole custody of her and she was beyond devastated._

 _"Mom, it's not working," she cried. The panic attack felt like it was killing her. Her chest was tight and her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest._

 _Athena Chase walked over to her daughter and sat down next to her. "Breathe baby. Just close your eyes and breathe."_

 _Annabeth did as she was told and a moment later she was in full distraught mode. She quickly stood up shaking her head and paced the floor. Four steps forward, stop, turn, four steps forward again and repeat._

 _"I can't ground mom. I . . . I . . ."_

 _Athena didn't say anything but slowly stood up. This wasn't the first time Annabeth had melted down. There were some things in this life that she couldn't handle and her mother and father getting divorced was the first thing that sent her world crashing down. The next was telling her that she would be living with her father and that she would only see her every other weekend and every other major holiday._

 _As Annabeth paced back in front of her, she grabbed her daughter by the elbow. "Come with me." Annabeth kept her eyes shut, trying to close out the world but she couldn't get the pain to go away._

 _Athena carefully guided her daughter to the piano and sat her down in the middle of the bench. She peeled her daughter's hands away from her ears and placed her hands on the keys of the baby Grand. "When you can't ground, remember that music is the key to the soul. Music will help you ground so whenever you need to, sit down and play. It doesn't matter what you play, just that you play."_

 _Annabeth's hand sat lightly on the keys, her fingers moving slightly as if preparing to play. Annabeth sucked in a deep breath and started playing the lullaby her mother wrote for her before she was born. Halfway through the song Annabeth felt her body relax as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She felt her mother kiss her lightly on the temple and she continued to play._

Annabeth ran back to her room and practically dove into her walk in closet. She made a beeline for the very back and fell to the floor. There in the back corner tucked behind a suit case was her Daisy Rock. She quickly knocked the suit case out of the way and grabbed the black case that was behind it and yanked it into her lap. Before she knew it her Wildwood was positioned and ready to play.

Annabeth leaned back into the closet wall and began playing. It had been years but her fingers remember what they needed to do.

* * *

Percy popped the key he borrowed from Thalia into the lock and tried to open the door. The knob turned but that was all it would do. He prayed the same key would open the dead bolt and thankfully it did. As he walked in he was about to call out to Annabeth but instead he dropped everything he hand in his hands for dinner and panic spread throughout him as he noticed all of her things spread across the foyer floor.

"Annabeth! Annabeth where are you," He called out as he ran into the living room.

Percy looked around the apartment, everything was where it should be. Nothing was out of place and yet something felt off. He closed his eyes for a minute and then he heard what he thought was music coming from Annabeth's room.

"Annabeth? Annabeth please say something," Percy pleaded with only the air.

As he walked farther into Annabeth's room the music got louder and yet he didn't see her anywhere. He continued to walk until he stopped at her closet door. He peeked in and found her leaning against the wall with her eyes closed strumming on a guitar. Percy was about to call out to her again but then she started singing.

 _"And if you hurt me, that's okay baby only words bleed,_  
 _Inside these pages you just hold me,_  
 _And I won't ever let you go,_  
 _Wait for me to come home._  
 _Wait for me to come home._  
 _Just wait for me to come home."_

Annabeth's eyes opened just before she sang the last line and before Percy knew what had come over him, he was by her side pulling her into his lap.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

To keep this rated T+ I toned down a lot of the Percabeth fluff that is going to show up in this chapter. If anyone feels it should be rated something else please leave a review and let me know why. This chapter also deals with anxiety. I used techniques that have worked for me so if anyone has any other techniques please let me know so that I can maybe weave them in as ways to help Annabeth later on.

Thanks to for the faves and follows! Read, review and enjoy!

 **Chapter 7**

Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "What do you want to do?"

She sighed deeply and rolled so that she was looking at him. "I don't know Percy. He told me that if I leave you and go with him this all would end."

Percy looked at her sadly. "Is that what you want?"

"Dear God no," she exclaimed! "I'd rather be dead than be with him and I feel like that is where this is headed." She sighed again and dropped her head so that her forehead was pressed against his chest. She closed her eyes to try to stop the tears but a drop escaped each eye, staining her cheeks as they rolled down.

"The cops?"

"What are they going to do Percy? So I get a restraining order and they do what? Arrest him for breaking the order and then he gets out thanks to that money and I am right back at square one." Suddenly Annabeth is angry and not at Percy but she can't help but taking the anger out on him.

"I obviously can't be left alone but how is that fair to me? Why do I have to be the one to lose all of my freedoms while he gets to scare the crap out of me, keep me on edge, and overall make me bitter," she screams at him.

Percy knew she wasn't angry with him but he was there and it was easier to take the pent up emotions out on him. "Annabeth, I love you and I will go with whatever course of action you choose. Remember that. Please don't push me away. I only want to help. This is partially my fault after all."

Annabeth looked up at him and snorted back a laugh. "How the hell do you figure that this is partially your fault?"

"Your birthday. The dance. Had I not come and rescued you from his arms, chances are he never would have been that drunk to do what he did. There would have been no knee to the balls and we wouldn't be discussing this right now." Percy looked into her gray eyes. Usually they seemed light and airy but tonight they were cold and calculating.

Annabeth just shook her head at him. "I can't believe you lay blame on yourself for that. Percy, this was going to happen eventually. He has been pursuing me for almost a year and I have been shooting him down with every shot." She rolled away from Percy so that she was now on her back looking at the ceiling. "Why can't life ever be simple?"

Percy didn't answer her. He got the feeling her question was more rhetorical than anything and decided to just let it slide. He watched her carefully, trying to figure out what she was thinking but he wasn't having much luck.

"Do you think he would follow me to Texas," she asked after several minutes of staring at the ceiling.

"I honestly don't know. Everything he has is here. Everyone he can easily buy off is here so maybe, maybe not." Percy suddenly wondered where she was going with this train of thought.

"I have until Friday to perfect the blue prints for the Texas aquarium. I need your help since you are working on the project. I need to get this job. I need to get away from here for a little while." She never looked at him when she said any of this to him but she knew she was breaking his heart with every word.

Percy wanted to scream and throw something. Just because he was working on this project didn't mean that he would get to go to Texas like she would if the aquarium went with her plans. "Whatever it takes to keep you safe," he whispered in her ear despite the demon sitting on his shoulder wanting to fight to keep her here with him.

She finally rolled over and looked in his ocean colored eyes. They were sad and the usual spark of life that could be found in them was missing right now. She slowly raised her broken hand to his face, letting her finger tips trace his jaw line. This was where she was meant to be, with Percy but right now just wasn't safe for her.

"Annabeth, you know that I don't get to go to Texas for the whole duration of the job right?"

Annabeth's breath caught in her chest. She was banking on the fact that since Percy was on this project that it meant he would be there as well. "But I thought . . . ," her voice trailed off.

"I get to go maybe once a month and only for a few days, a week max. It's not until the dolphin pool project starts that I would get to really stay. My only job in the beginning is to make sure that the animals are in proper holding tanks while each stage is worked on. The only way I would be there long term is if I ask for a transfer and if they have room to take me on full time while the project is being completed." Percy sighed and pulled her close again. He rested his chin on top of her head and tried to keep the tears from falling. He didn't want to lose the only person he ever loved outside of his family.

"What a wonderful start to your birthday. I'm so sorry Percy," She sniffled as she wrapped her bad arm around him as best as she could.

Trying to lighten the mood Percy responded, "My birthday isn't for another two days! There's time to fix this mess."

Annabeth giggled through her tears, "Always the optimist! In all seriousness though, I am sorry," she whispered into his chest.

The pair were lying perfectly still, just taking each other in and the seriousness of the situation at hand when Annabeth took in a deep breath. All she could smell was the ocean which for some reason Percy always seemed to smell like. It was calming to her but suddenly she was taken over by something else.

Percy was gently rubbing her back and when his fingertips would graze her skin where her shirt was lifted slightly, she was greeted with a strange tingling sensation. Annabeth found herself exploring his hips with the tips of her fingers jutting out of her cast. The stupid thing was hindering her senses and she blurted out, "Damn cast!"

Percy laughed and then rolled her over so that she was on her back and now had use of both of her hands. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead, then her cheek and then lightly on the lips. He knew where this was going but he wanted to move slowly enough to give Annabeth time to decide what she wanted.

Annabeth felt Percy pulling away from the kiss and with her good hand she ran it up his back and placed it on the back of his head and pushed him back to her lips. She deepened the kiss and found herself biting his bottom lip.

A groan escaped Percy and he carefully placed himself on top of her, making sure not to crush her under his weight. He returned her kiss by parting her lips with his tongue and suddenly it was like a fire was ignited between the two of them.

Annabeth felt like she needed him now more than ever, a growing hunger for him in the pit of her stomach was making it hard for her to concentrate on anything other than her sudden need for him. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt and was quickly trying to rip it off of him.

Percy helped her by pulling it off himself and tossing it to the floor. She couldn't do anything but stare at him. In her eyes he was absolutely perfect. She ran her hands up his arms, truly feeling for the first time the muscles he kept hidden. It was now that she noticed how cut he was. Not too much muscle showed but just enough to show her that he stayed in shape.

Percy leaned back down and started kissing her neck. He slowly worked his way up to her ear and he could feel the shivers he sent through her. "Are you sure," was all he could whisper to her.

Annabeth sighed and whispered back, "Yes, now more than ever."

* * *

Annabeth woke with a shiver running down her body and she felt Percy hug her tighter. Their bodies were entwined on top of her sheets and she wished that she could remain in the moment forever. She lightly kissed his chest and sighed happily. She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts though when her stomach rumbled slightly. Seconds later Percy's did the same thing and he sat up, pulling her with him.

"We missed dinner," he smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry about that."

She lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Would you stop apologizing for every little thing that happens? I prefer making love to you over a meal any time! Besides, it's my fault this time. Had you come in and I not been in panic attack mode we probably would have just had dinner and missed out on all of this," She said pulling his face toward her so that she could kiss him.

"You have a point," he said into the kiss. He pulled away from her slowly and his stomach rumbled again. "Come on, I brought stuff to make dinner tonight."

"Oh God, you cook too?"

"Well you can decide that after you eat," he laughed at her.

The pair quickly jumped up, Percy throwing on his pants and Annabeth grabbed Percy's shirt off the floor and a pair of pajama shorts out of the drawer. She followed him out into the living room practically tripping over nothing but her shorts as she tried to put them on and walk at the same time.

"We don't need any more broken bones babe," Percy laughed as he caught her before she fell on her face. He grabbed her good hand and started to pull her along as she glared at him.

When they reached the foyer, Annabeth suddenly stopped in her tracks and gasped. The reminder of Luke was all over her floor.

Percy quickly turned around and pulled her into his arms. "You're fine babe. I won't let him hurt you if I can help it." Percy kissed the top of her head and ran his hands up and down her back. He could tell she was on the verge of another panic attack and the last thing he wanted was for her to break down again. He nearly died when he found her in the closet singing to herself. She was so out of it that she never really registered that he was there until he lifted her up and placed her on her bed almost an hour later.

"Annabeth, listen to me," He said quietly and calmly. "I need to you take a deep breath and hold it for me." He waited for her to do as she was told and as soon as she started holding it he started counting to ten in his head. "Okay, let it out." She did as she was told again. "Now, look at me." Again she did as he asked and Percy saw tears welling up in her eyes. Percy gently put her face in his hands and started talking again. "I know it seems hopeless right now. We will figure this out. I won't let him hurt you. I promise that I will take care of you and I will keep you safe."

Annabeth leaned in and kissed him and then rested her head on his chest. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep Percy."

Percy knew she was right but he meant every word of what he just said. "I love you Annabeth. I swear I will do everything possible to protect you."

Annabeth sighed deeply and he could feel the tension leaving her body. "I love you too."

* * *

"Happy birthday Percy," Annabeth whispered into his ear as she then bit his lobe lightly. She then kissed just below his ear lobe and started working her way down his jaw line and to his mouth. Her lips crashed into his and she pulled away only to catch her breath only to start in on him again.

Percy placed both hands on her waist and pulled her even closer to him. He allowed her to continue for a few more minutes, returning every bit of intensity and passion she was throwing at him before he placed both hands underneath her and stood up. He quickly made his way to her bed room and easily tossed her into the middle of the bed.

Annabeth giggled as Percy climbed on top of her and started kissing her from her belly button all of the way back to her mouth. Each touch sent shivers through her and had her aching for more.

"Best birthday ever," He whispered to her as he kissed his way over to her ear.

* * *

Percy woke with a start. A bright light from the side of the bed was casting odd shadows all over the room. It took him several moments to realize that his phone was ringing.

Annabeth untangled herself from Percy and rolled so that she could bury her head under a pillow. "Uuugh," was all she managed to blurt out.

Percy looked at the number but couldn't place it. He decided he better answer it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Percy Jackson," a stern sounding woman asked.

"Yes this is. How can I help you," he asked a little less than pleasantly as he placed a hand on Annabeth's lower back.

"This is Mrs. Stark and I am the principal for one Alexa Blofis."

Percy rolled his eyes and couldn't help but wonder what his little sister did now to warrant a call at 2:30 in the morning.

"It came to our attention tonight that several of the older girls were bullying Miss Blofis and she decided to take matters into her own hands. I would really appreciate it if you could get down to the school camp site to speak with me and discuss further discipline."

Percy groaned slightly and said, "Yes ma'am. I will be there in about twenty minutes. Please have her ready to go." He didn't even wait for her to respond, he just hung up and sighed. He leaned over Annabeth and kissed her shoulder blades lightly. "I have to go pick up Alexa. I am pretty sure she just got kicked out of camp."

"Sorry Perce, but tonight your sister is a total brat," she said into the bed as she tried to bury her head under the pillow even more.

"I know. But what can I do. Mom and Paul are on their honeymoon since they never got one and Thalia is on night shift for the next month. I'm kind of stuck. Do you want to come with me to get her or stay here?"

"Sleep. I think I just want sleep for now."

Percy smiled at her and kissed her back one more time. "I will be back soon I promise."

Percy quickly threw his clothes on, ran out the front door and to the elevator. He wanted to get Alexa and get back as quickly as possible. Leaving Annabeth alone was not an option he liked but Luke's warning said he would give her more time.

Percy drove without really paying attention and found himself pulling up the Leman Campus about fifteen minutes after he left Annabeth's. He sighed and crawled out of the jeep and went straight up the stairs of the main building. He opened the heavy wood doors and instantly heard girls crying. When he reached the office he found Alexa sitting by herself, arms crossed over her chest and tears pouring out of her eyes. He walked over to her and before he could say a word Mrs. Stark was in his face. All Percy could do was ruffle her hair and follow the woman behind another large wooden door. She motioned for him to sit and he did as he was silently told.

"Your sister, Mr. Jackson is being expelled from Leman summer camp."

"May I ask what she did to deserve such a punishment," he asked sternly as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees.

"She claims the older girls were picking on her constantly and she had enough and punched two of them. We are a zero tolerance campus Mr. Jackson and expulsion is the only answer," she said as she crossed her arms and placed them on her desk.

"I want you to bring her in here, as well as the other girls. I want to know exactly what is going on," he said as he stood up and pulled out his phone. He quickly hit Annabeth's number in his contacts and looked at the principal like she was crazy for not moving while he waited for Annabeth to answer. "Now please! I have things to get back to!"

"Hey babe. Sorry to wake you again but I am going to be just a little longer than expected. I know I locked the door but please double check it," he pleaded with her.

"I will and is it that bad over there?"

"Yes. I will call you when we are on the way back. I have a feeling it's going to be an extremely long night." He listened as Annabeth sighed heavily into the phone. "Back to bed with you. Love you."

"Love you too." And with that she was gone and his phone back in his pocket.

Thirty minutes later, Percy was left shaking his head as he carried all of Alexa's things out to his jeep. Those parents would be hearing from his father in the morning and they weren't going to be happy.

"You're mad at me, aren't you," Alexa said quietly as she climbed into the back seat.

"No, not at you. Just the idiots who were left in charge of you. When we get to Annabeth's I want to see every mark on you from them. I need pictures to give to dad as evidence."

Alexa simply nodded and closed her eyes. She was shaken out of her silence when the phone rang through the car speakers.

"Hey babe. I was just about to call you and let you know we are on our way back," Percy said as he navigated the jeep out of the parking lot. "Annabeth?" There was no response from Annabeth, only what sounded like things being knocked over and then what was maybe the phone falling to the floor. Moments later Percy's heart dropped to the floor and a blood curdling scream echoed throughout the car.


	8. Chapter 8

phantom753 - Thanks so much! I already answered your questions but thanks again so much for the feed back and the help! Greatly appreciate it all!

Sorry I went from being an every day updater to like a week gap. August is the most insane month for us and here we are only four days in and have had to literally sit down and schedule time for everything! Hopefully I can catch back up rather quickly!

So there is a trigger chapter. I left a lot of it to your imagination but please proceed with caution on this chapter.

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan or Ed Sheeran and his song Photograph.**

 **Chapter 8**

Annabeth groaned as she heard her phone ring. Blindly she smacked at her side table until her hand hit her phone and she picked it up. She glanced at the caller ID through one squinted eye and slid the green button to answer the call. She didn't even bother saying hello, she just yawned into the phone instead.

"Hey babe. Sorry to wake you again but I am going to be just a little longer than expected. I know I locked the door but please double check it," Percy pleaded with her.

"I will and is it that bad over there?" She yawned and sat up so that she could go double check her locks.

"Yes. I will call you when we are on the way back. I have a feeling it's going to be an extremely long night." He listened as Annabeth sighed heavily into the phone. "Back to bed with you. Love you."

"Love you too." She stood up and stretched and then ran to the front door. 'Locked. Thank God.' Annabeth walked back to her bed and plopped down in the middle. She shivered and then crawled back under the covers falling asleep with the phone in her hand.

With Annabeth's room being so far from the door, she never heard the key slip into the lock nor the door open. She was exhausted, having spent every last minute either worrying about Luke and his threats or how she was going to ensure that she got the Texas job. Add in Percy and trying to make sure this new relationship was going to work and trying to keep her safe from Luke, and she wasn't exactly sure how she even got through the last couple of days.

Annabeth rolled onto her stomach and was startled when her cast bumped into something on the bed beside her. "Per . . ." was all she managed to get out before there was a ton of weight on top of her. Her right hand which was hidden under a pillow from her roll, still held her phone. She was beyond thankful that she knew her phone inside and out at this moment and hit the home button to unlock it. She knew that it would return to the previous screen which would be her contacts and since Percy was the last person that called her it would be his page that popped up. Knowing right where the green call button was, she tapped it with her thumb and prayed to God that making a phone call blindly would work.

Annabeth let go of the phone just as she was flipped on to her back. She went to scream but all she could do was flail her arms and legs as her attacker began to choke her. She tried to beat him but he was able to dodge every throw she made. She was starting to see block dots in her eyes and she realized that she had the same shot she had made back in the club.

Annabeth pulled her right knee up as hard as she could and once again her attacker was down. She gasped for air and then struggled to get out from under him, knocking everything out of her way, including the pillows and her phone hidden underneath. She managed to sit up and scoot away but he sat up and grabbed her around the ankles and pulled her hard back toward him.

As she slid closer to him she let out a blood curdling scream in hopes that a neighbor would hear her and come to her aid.

* * *

Alexa covered her ears with her hands and screamed at Percy, "What is going on?"

"Annabeth!" Percy was in panic mode and stepped on the gas in his Jeep, forcing it to do the max limit. ' _I'm coming babe, I'm coming_ ,' he thought as he listened to her cries. He quickly hung up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, please state your emergency."

"My girlfriend is being attacked. She called and all I could hear were things falling and then her screaming and crying for help. I am on my way to her place now!"

"Sir, I need her address and I need you to stay away so that the police can do their job."

"You're crazy if you think that I am going to let whoever is hurting her continue to do so," he screamed at the operator as he flew down the expressway.

"Sir, the address please," she tried to say calmly.

"The Helena Apartments, 601 West 57th, apartment #54B." Percy's hands were shaking and the drive back to Annabeth's felt like it was taking forever.

"Sir, is there a pass code to get into the apartment?"

"Only if they park in resident's garage. Parking out front and taking the elevator up would be the fastest way to get to her." He could hear the operator typing furiously on her keyboard.

"I have officers in route to the vicinity. ETA is about ten minutes."

"Are you kidding me? You better pray they get there before I do," Percy screamed at the operator. He glanced back in the rear view, remembering suddenly that he had Alexa in tow. She was rocking with her hands over her ears still as tears streamed down her face again.

"Sir, I need you to remain calm and not enter the apartment on your own," the operator pleaded with him.

* * *

Annabeth cried and screamed her heart out and yet no one was coming to help. She was never overly friendly to her neighbors but she was never rude. If she had she heard one of them screaming she would have come running to their side.

Luke slapped her across the face and she snapped back to reality. She tried to hit him back but he had her hands pinned above her head. He had crushed her cast in several places and she could no longer feel the pain that was once pulsating down her arm. Other places hurt far more than the pain in her wrist.

She had tried to kick him but he hit her so hard that she blacked out for several minutes. When she woke she found her ankles bound in rope and tied to the foot posts of her bed. He kept her positioned in the middle of the bed and every time she tried to scoot down to close her legs he would yank her back up by the arms and leave her partially spread eagle.

"Luke, stop! Please, just stop," she begged him as tears poured down her face.

"You know you want this Annabeth, stop denying it."

"NO," she screamed at him. "GET OFF OF ME!" She yelled as she thrashed and tried to throw him off of her.

"If you would just stop fighting and give in you would figure out that this is what you want," Luke hissed in her ear.

Luke tried to kiss her but she kept moving her head away from him until finally he grabbed her face with both hands and forced a kiss on her. Luke tried to break her lips open with his tongue and when he did she bit down hard enough to draw blood.

Luke screamed in her face, "You bitch!" He then punched her in the gut and stood up to remove his pants before lying back on top of her.

It was then her world shattered. She lay there broken, lost in the blackness of despair.

Her last thought before spiraling down into the darkness was of Percy. 'You shouldn't make promises you can't keep.'

* * *

Percy's tires squealed as he pulled up in front of the building. He didn't have time to wait for the parking garage. He pulled into the drop off circle, threw the car in park and jumped out of the Jeep.

Upon entering the building, Percy had completely forgotten that Alexa was even with him until her tiny body slammed into him in front of the elevators. "Stay here, you don't need to see this," he told Alexa quietly. He pressed the up arrow and thanked God that the car was already there and the doors were slowly opening. Percy jumped in the car and started beating on the close door button and watched the tears pour down Alexa's face as the doors slowly closed on her. He began pacing the floor of the elevator as it slowly rose to the 5th floor.

When the elevator door opened he noticed that Annabeth's door was open a tiny sliver. He quietly stepped into the apartment and tried to become invisible. He listened in the foyer for any sign of Annabeth. Once he walked farther into the apartment he finally heard her, crying uncontrollably from her bedroom.

"Shut up! Why do you have to ruin this Annabeth?" Luke screamed at her.

Percy then heard what sounded like a slap and Annabeth's pleas turned to quiet cries.

Percy couldn't take it and ran as fast as he could into Annabeth's room. Even with no lights on he knew exactly where they were just from Luke's disgruntled breath and Annabeth's whimpers for him to stop.

Percy hit her doorway and turned to the left just slightly, throwing himself full force at the body on top of his girlfriend. Percy hit Luke with so much force the two of them flew off the end of the bed and flipped head over heels over the foot board.

Luke was dazed which gave Percy the advantage. He pulled back with his right hand and swung forward with all his might, making contact with the left side of Luke's jaw. Percy wasn't sure but he thought he heard the jaw crack. This didn't stop him and Percy went in again with his left hand. This time the punch landed just next to Luke's right eye and a slit appeared and blood began to flow.

Percy was able to get a few more blows in before he was snapped out of his fit of rage by Annabeth's cries. He quickly jumped off of Luke and untied the ropes from the ends of the foot board. He then grabbed a blanket from the floor and tried to wrap Annabeth up in the blanket but when his skin made contact with hers she flew off the handle.

Annabeth screamed at Percy, "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Annabeth, it's okay. It's me, Percy. I swear I am not going to hurt you," Percy said as calmly as he could to her.

Annabeth jumped up from her spot on the bed and tried to back away from him. In her attempts she ended up falling off the bed and tried to hide from him in the corner of her room.

Percy walked over to her and kneeled in front of her, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as possible. She screamed and cried and tried to break free but Percy wouldn't let her go. He managed to get her into his lap and he instantly started singing to her.

 _'And if you hurt me, that's okay baby only words bleed,_  
 _Inside these pages you just hold me and I won't ever let you go,_  
 _Wait for me to come home . . .'_

Percy sang the last line to her several times as she slowly calmed in his lap. He wasn't sure how long they were sitting there but the light flickered on and an officer looked at the pair hiding in the corner of the room and then at the beaten man at the foot of the bed.

"Sir, I take it the situation is under control now or do we need to look for someone else," the officer asked calmly.

"It's as taken care of as it can get for the moment," Percy replied sadly.

The officer just nodded and pressed a button on his shoulder radio. "Suspect taken down. We need EMS, send two. I will not subject this girl to riding in the same vehicle with this trash. She's been tortured enough as it is."

Percy listened as the radio squawked back and another officer replied, "In route, ETA three minutes for the first truck and five for the second."

Percy looked down at Annabeth, her eyes were glazed over as she stared at the edge of her bed. He carefully pulled the blanket around her tighter and she snuggled into his chest, never removing her gaze from the edge of her bed. Percy could see the bruises beginning to dust her cheeks. He knew there were more but he wasn't about to try and see how badly she was injured at this moment, mostly because he was afraid that she would fly off the handle again and he wouldn't be able to calm her.

Percy wasn't paying attention to anything in the room but he noticed that there were now four officers, all trying to get Luke to wake up so they could possibly cuff him and walk him out to a car.

"Was that his handy work," Percy heard an officer ask. He looked over at Luke for the first time in the light and he saw what he was capable of when overwhelming rage took over. He was almost sick at the sight, but just almost, as Luke deserved every last blow Percy delivered to him.

Luke's entire face was covered in deep blue and purple bruises, there was blood pouring out of his nose as well as from a gash on his right eye. From Percy's current position, it also looked like there was a bit of blood coming out of his right ear.

Time seemed to be moving slowly and just as Percy wondered what was taking the EMS team so long, a gurney was pushed into the room.

"He's breathing but there's no telling what kind of damage the kid did to him," He heard an officer say to the EMS crew walking in. "Just leave the two of them be, I will let the second crew handle both of them as soon as he is out of here. She's pretty shaken up and I doubt he has a clue what he did."

The EMS team just nodded and quickly went to work getting Luke covered and onto the gurney. Percy decided not to watch and simply closed his eyes as he continued to rock Annabeth.

Percy again wasn't sure how long he had been rocking Annabeth when he was snapped back to reality by a familiar voice.

"Percy. Percy can you hear me?"

Percy blinked several times and looked up to find Thalia and her partner crouched down, poised and ready to do what they needed to do to help.

"Yeah."

"Can you stand with her and get her on the gurney? We need to get her checked out and to the hospital. John will look at your hands while I tend to her once we get her moved, okay?"

Percy simply nodded. He hung on to Annabeth as both Thalia and John helped hoist him to his feet. He slowly walked to the gurney that was at the foot of her bed and gently laid her down. "Don't wake her up," Percy said quietly to Thalia. "She completely flew off the handle when I touched her and I had to hold her down until she was able to calm down," he added as he tucked the blanket around her tightly, not allowing any part of her to be exposed to anyone.

Percy looked up at Thalia and he was surprised to see a tear make its way down her cheek. "I can handle this Perce. Just let John take care of your hands and then you need to tend to Alexa. She's a wreck out there," she said as she gently stroked Annabeth's blonde curls.

Percy turned his back to Thalia and Annabeth and sat down on the edge of the bed. This was the first time since he barged in and attacked Luke that he let the whole situation sink in. He looked down at his hands and they were bloody and bruised. Several fingers on his left hand were swollen and he couldn't make a fist. He was pretty sure his hand was broken from the force of slamming his fists into Luke's head repeatedly.

* * *

Percy sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair for what seemed like forever, when finally an officer sat down next to him. Percy glanced at him sadly and then looked back down at his bandaged and casted hand.

"I know it's been a really long night but may I ask you a few questions Mr. Jackson?" He droned off while flipping through his small notebook and readying his pen.

Percy simply nodded and continued to look at his damaged hands.

"Can you tell me what happened tonight?"

Percy sighed and said, "Long story short, I left my girlfriend's apartment to go pick up my sister as she was kicked out of camp. My girlfriend called back as we were on our way back to her place but all I heard was what sounded like things falling and then a scream I will never get out of my head. She screamed for help and that is when I hung up, called 9-1-1 and rushed to her place. I didn't think, I just reacted. All I remember was tackling Luke and falling off the bed. I had the upper hand and hit him. I don't know how many times I hit him. I just seemed to black out for a few minutes. Annabeth's cries brought me back from where ever I was at and I went to help her. And now, here we are."

Percy glanced up and noticed the officer furiously writing down everything he just said. ' _I just want to get Annabeth and get out of here_ ,' He thought as he knew the all-important question was about pop up and it wasn't one that he really wanted to answer.

"Do you have any idea why Mr. Castellan would attack Miss Chase like that?"

And there it was. The question Percy didn't want to answer. He leaned back in the chair and went to run his hand through his hair, something he always did when he was nervous or upset. He winced as he remember he couldn't use his hands. "Look," Percy started, "it's beyond complicated. Luke has a reputation and is known for buying people off to get what he wants to stay out of trouble. Annabeth made a mistake last month when she kneed him in the balls after he made an unwanted pass at her. He started stalking her and threatening her."

"Why didn't she get a restraining order out on him?"

"Have you ever actually seen a restraining order work? I mean really, what keeps a man from beating a woman who is alone in home when she has a restraining order? He simply walks through it and then generally posts bail. Something we all knew Luke would do. We also know that his family has paid police officers off before, what was to stop him from doing it this time?"

"Do you have proof of this?" The officer asked cautiously.

"Just Luke bragging about it. Nothing concrete. Just our word against his." Percy leaned forward again, elbows resting on his knees. He was getting restless. He needed out of the hospital and away from the officer. He hated the smell, the lights and just the overall feel. The only happy place was the maternity ward and he had no desire to be in one of those at the time being. "What happens now?" He asked quietly.

The officer sighed and closed his notebook. "That will depend on what the Castellan family wants to do. They could press charges on you for any damages to their son. Have a lawyer ready just in case. Miss Chase absolutely needs to follow through with all charges we book him on when he wakes up. He will go straight into custody and be booked and listed as a sexual predator. He faces serious jail time."

Percy was quiet for a moment and then felt pressure on his shoulder. He turned to see the officer trying to offer his best support. "I can't be bought Mr. Jackson." The officer gave him a nod and then got up and walked off, leaving Percy to his thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

Another trigger chapter. It's not much but it is there. Again proceed with caution.

phantom753 - Thank you so much again!

Come on guys, don't be afraid to review. I really would like to know what you think! Sorry for any typos and issues in the last chapter. I had to add it from my phone, never again on that one as well! Anyway, happy reading!

 **Chapter 9**

Annabeth opened her eyes and for a moment forgot where she was. "You're in the hospital. You're fine now," She repeated to herself several times. She gently shook her head and then tried to sit up. She grimaced as muscles she never realized she had ached from deep within. Annabeth groaned as she pulled herself into a sitting position and then hugged her knees to her chest. She looked down at the soft cast on her left arm and shook her head. As she looked around the room, she noticed a small body tossing on the mini sofa against the far wall of her room.

Suddenly the little body sat up and rubbed its eyes. Instinctively Annabeth opened her arms and waited for the girl to come over. Alexa carefully climbed onto the bed and folded herself into Annabeth. "Are you okay," she whispered to the top of Alexa's head.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Annabeth giggled and hugged the girl tighter. "Probably, but right now I would rather think about anything other than what happened tonight. So again, are you okay?"

Alexa shrugged. "I will be I guess. Mom and dad are going to kill me when they get home but oh well."

"What happened?" Annabeth didn't want to pry but she needed something to keep her mind off the trauma from only hours ago.

"I . . ." Alexa sighed and lifted her head to look at Annabeth. "I punched three girls. One in the nose. I am pretty sure I broke it. The other two I got them where I could." She shrugged again and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

"And what caused you to punch three girls?"

"They don't like me. I am better at most things. I don't mean to sound conceited or anything like that. They have been hitting me and scratching me when the counselors weren't looking. They told me if I told they would make life worse." Alexa sighed and let the tears slide down her cheeks. "I got tired of being picked on. I finally told on them and the counselors told me to ignore it and move on. I tried my best but they kept on." Alexa lifted her left sleeve and showed Annabeth the deep purple bruises that covered upper arm. She then carefully turned around and lifted her shirt and showed her the deep angry red gashes on her back. "And that's why I punched them. I had enough," Alexa said as she turned back around to face Annabeth.

"I don't blame you. Always be you Alexa. Don't let anyone bully you or tell you otherwise. You are amazing and you need to remember that." Annabeth leaned over to give her a hug and winced as she stretched her sore muscles too far.

Suddenly the door opened and a nurse walked in followed by Percy and a man who Annabeth could only assume was Percy's father. She sighed and she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Percy just yet but now she had no choice.

Percy walked over to the bed and was going to lift Alexa out of Annabeth's lap when he realized his hands were useless at the moment. He turned around and patted his shoulder a couple of times and Alexa carefully stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. Percy leaned forward and spun so that he could carefully set her on the ground. He crouched down to look her in the eyes. "When the nurse behind me is done with Annabeth, you are going to go with her so that she can get pictures of all of the cuts and bruises. I want you to show her every last one. My dad needs them so that he can keep these parents from pressing charges and suing or whatever it is they said they were going to do."

Alexa just nodded and Percy pushed a strand of her chocolate colored hair out of her face. He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and stood up. He looked over at his dad and then back at Annabeth. He walked quietly over to her and stood next to her as the nurse took her vitals. All he could do was listen as the nurse mumbled to herself and scribbled things down on her chart.

"Okay Ms. Chase, the on call will be in to see you shortly and to finish your cast. Is there any specific color you would like?"

"A light gray is okay with me," Annabeth mumbled and the nurse went back to scribbling on the chart.

"Oh," the nurse said as she started to walk out, "an officer will be in to talk to you shortly as well. As soon as you have been seen by both, I am pretty sure that you are free to leave. Now Miss Blofis, if you will follow me." And with that she and Alexa were out the door and gone.

An awkward silence hung over the room and Percy finally cleared his throat and looked at Annabeth. She tried to avoid his gaze but it was useless.

"Dad, this is Annabeth Chase. Annabeth, this is my father, Poseidon Jackson. If you will let him, he will be your lawyer."

Poseidon moved closer to the bed and nodded to her. "I am pleased to meet you. I wish it were under other circumstances," He said sadly.

All she could do was nod at the man. This was not how she wanted to meet his father. Annabeth studied him closely for a moment and she could instantly see where Percy got a lot of his mannerisms from. He looked like he wanted to say more but instead he ran a hand through his raven hair and sighed, something Percy often did when he was nervous or upset. She looked back at Percy and patted the spot next to her on the bed. She was suddenly glad that Percy was an absolute gentleman and waited for her to always say what she wanted from him.

Percy carefully sat down next to her and tried not to cry. "I am so sorry I couldn't protect you," he croaked out.

Annabeth leaned her head back and sighed. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this. She needed time to process for herself and not help Percy through his guilt of not being there. All she could manage was her good hand on his knee. It wasn't much but he seemed to accept that and placed his bandaged right hand on top of hers.

"The cops are going to come in here and ask you about tonight. They are going to want to know details from the beginning. They will want to know what started this and why no action was taken to stop any of this. I know this isn't the best time Annabeth, but do you want me to be your lawyer?" Poseidon was staring at her sternly but there was something else in his eyes that made her trust him. It was that little spark that she always saw in Percy's eyes.

Annabeth simply nodded and tried to blink back the tears threatening to pour out of the corner of her eyes.

"I am going to assume everything that Percy told me is correct and there is nothing else to add?"

"That really depends on what Percy told you," She replied quietly.

Over the next twenty minutes, Annabeth and Percy filled his father in on the whole story. When finished, Percy looked away from Annabeth and just shook his head. "He will go away for this right dad?"

"As long as Annabeth is able to testify against him, we should have no problem getting him locked up for a long time. You on the other hand . . ." His father trailed off and was suddenly lost in thought.

"What about Percy?" Annabeth looked back and forth between the two men confused as to what they were talking about.

Percy sighed at looked at Annabeth sadly. "I hurt him Annabeth. We don't know how badly yet, but apparently his parents were tossing around pressing charges on me, which is why we need you to follow through with everything the cops decide to charge him with."

Again all Annabeth could do was nod. ' _Why does life have to be so damn hard sometimes?_ ' Her thoughts were suddenly running wild and all she wanted was sleep but even something as simple as sleep was taken away from her when an officer and the on call doctor walked into her room at the same time. ' _Well, at least I can kill two birds with one stone and get out of here faster_ ,' She thought as she sat up a little more and tried to pull Percy closer to her.

Two hours later the couple, Alexa and Poseidon were headed out of the ER and down to the visitors parking. Annabeth clung to Percy's side and watched as Alexa did the same to Poseidon. When they got to his parked Lexus, Alexa turned back to face Annabeth. "Can I sit in the back with you," she asked just above a whisper.

Annabeth looked at Percy and gently pushed him to the front passenger door. "Yes you can," Annabeth said as she watched the small girl climb into the back seat of the car.

"You sure? I can sit with her . . ." Percy trailed off as Annabeth placed a finger on his lips.

"It's fine Percy. She has had a rough night as well. If I can give her a little bit of the peace that she is seeking, then please let me give it to her."

Percy smiled slightly at her and then leaned forward to kiss her forehead. It took every last ounce of energy she had to not flinch at his touch. It's not that she didn't want him to kiss her, because Lord knows that it seemed that was all she wanted was to be close to Percy, but right now she still had the feeling of Luke on her and it was an unpleasant feeling. She felt dirty and damaged but she would never let Percy know that's how she felt. She didn't want an overwhelming pity party.

Annabeth carefully crawled into the backseat and buckled up. She turned slightly in the seat so that she could cradle Alexa's upper half and she gasped loudly as the girl laid her head down on her abdomen.

"You okay?" Percy and Poseidon both asked at the same time.

"Yeah, just sore and bruised where she put her head," she replied and let out the gulp of air she was holding while the tingling pain ran through her body.

"Sorry," Alexa muttered into her shirt.

Annabeth gently stroked the girl's chocolate hair and hummed softly so that only the two of them would know. After a few minutes she noticed that her shirt was wet. She looked down to see Alexa crying her eyes out silently. Annabeth sighed deeply and tried to imagine what all of this trauma would do to a nine year old and she decided that it was better she not think about it at all right now.

Annabeth opened her eyes a few minutes later to find that they were now parked in front of her building. She wasn't ready to go back in and face the demons lurking behind her door. "Percy, can I say with you?"

Percy turned and looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "Definitely. Do you want me to run up and grab you some stuff to wear or do you want me to just go up there with you?"

"Just throw some stuff in a bag for me please. I have a backpack on the floor just left of the door in my closet."

Percy nodded and looked at his dad, "Watch them for a few please?"

Poseidon nodded and watched as his son ran into the building. He looked back at Annabeth and Alexa and then asked, "Is she asleep? I can't tell from here."

Annabeth moved Alexa's hair and noticed that the tears had stopped and her breathing was slow and relaxed. "I think so."

"She's had a week as bad as your night Annabeth. Don't tell Percy and let her tell you every detail when she is ready, but I could kill those girls for what they have taken from her. Don't treat her any differently than what you would have only knowing what she told you. I only know this because I was reading her file from the nurse on the way to the car."

Annabeth simply nodded. She was in shock and not sure what to say to this news.

"She's a sweet, smart girl when you get around the sassy exterior and while she isn't mine, I love her like she is my own. From what Percy has told me of you, I know that you are the same. The only difference between you two is that you have the mental capacity to deal with the trauma, she unfortunately does not and she is going to need your help Annabeth."

' _Oh dear God, please don't put this pressure on me! I DO NOT have the mental capacity to deal with my own rape let alone Alexa's abuse!_ ' Annabeth's thoughts were suddenly crazed and loud in her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to keep more tears from falling. ' _God, I need time to process! Quit throwing things at me like this!_ '

"I am sorry to throw so much at you at one time. You don't deserve that . . . I just think you two might be able to help each other heal if you give it a try."

Annabeth opened her eyes and nodded as the tears began to freely fall, staining her cheeks in a salty river. She looked out the window just in time to see Percy getting off the elevator in the building. Using the back of her good hand she tried to dry her face off. It was a failed attempt as she knew Percy could tell there was a round of fresh tears from her. Thankfully he didn't ask any questions as he helped her out of the car and quickly got her into the front seat of his Jeep.

Poseidon had Alexa out of his car and was buckling the sleeping girl into the back seat when Percy yelled, "Oh great!"

"What?"

"Nothing, just a couple of parking violations," He grumbled as he fell into the driver's seat.

Poseidon stood up straight and shut the back door and walked over to Percy. He took the tickets from his son's hand and started toward his own car. "Consider it part of your birthday present," his dad called over his shoulder.

"Yay, what a wonderful present," Percy said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Hey, I said only part of your present! Now get those girls home and in bed please. I will talk to you tomorrow evening after your mother and Paul get back. Night son."

And with that he was in his car and pulling out of the drop off circle. Percy started the Jeep and sighed and pulled the Jeep out after him. "So much for the best birthday ever," he mumbled to himself as he headed toward his apartment.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the lack of updates again. The last week of July and all of August really are the most hectic in our little world and well I just don't get to do what I want to do until it does slow down. Sorry for typos! I didn't get a chance to triple check like I wanted to!

Also, sorry for the crummy chapter. Trying to build back up to whats to come. Just couldn't keep throwing it at you like that. I appreciate the reviews! Keep leaving them and letting me know what you think!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

 **Chapter 10**

Annabeth woke with a start. Something touched her abdomen right where Luke had punched her. She looked down and saw Alexa curled in a tight ball between her and Percy. Her head right where she felt the pain that woke her moments ago. She sighed and tried to sit up but now that she had not moved in hours she was beyond stiff. ' _Great, now I am stuck,_ ' she thought as she rolled just a little bit and looked at the ceiling and cringed.

She found herself drifting off again and falling into a fitful sleep. The dreams couldn't be considered dreams, they were too real and too vivid. It was more like her memories had come to life in a distorted sort of way and all she could feel was Luke all over her again. He punched her in the gut and she woke with a scream.

Percy was up before he even knew what was going on around him. All he knew was he needed to get to Annabeth. He bolted straight up and leapt off the bed and ran around to Annabeth. She was sitting up now, hugging her knees to her chest, head down and rocking as she cried. He carefully wrapped his arms around her and she startled, falling off the side of the bed into his lap as they fell to the floor.

Percy pulled her closer to him and all she could do was shudder. "Annabeth, please tell me how to help you," He whispered into the curls on the top of her head.

Annabeth simply shook her head and cried harder. She had no clue what he could do to help her right now, nor did she know if he ever could.

* * *

Annabeth sat curled up on the sofa while Percy made dinner for them. He was constantly stopping what he was doing to check on her and every time he glanced at her over the bar, she was in the same position; knees pulled to her chest, chin on knees and eyes fixed on the turned off television. There was no doubt he was worried about her. Every time he had ever seen Annabeth over the last two years and even in their last month together as a couple, she was strong, almost stoic in her ways. Since they started dating she didn't need him to get through her days, she wanted him. Now he wasn't sure what she needed.

The silence of the apartment was suddenly shattered by screams coming from him bedroom and Annabeth finally moved. She was up and headed down the hallway before he could even step out of the kitchen.

"I got this Percy. Finish dinner." And with that Annabeth was gone.

She was just entering the room when Alexa had quit screaming. She was trying desperately to catch her breath as the tears streamed down her face. Annabeth carefully sat down next to her and held her arms out to the girl to give her a hug. Alexa slowly climbed into Annabeth's lap, careful not to hit or push on any bruises from the night before. "Why do I get the feeling that you aren't telling us something?"

Alexa's breath caught in her chest and she suddenly felt like she had been punched. She didn't want anyone to know what had happened to her at that camp. She just wanted to forget everything and move on. But with Annabeth questioning her in this state, she wasn't sure she was going to be able to lie this one off.

"You don't have to tell me Alexa. I can just tell that you are leaving something out. I don't want you to tell me anything you are uncomfortable with." Annabeth was totally flying by the seat of her pants on this one. She knew that she never would have known had Poseidon not told her what the nurse found during her exam. To think that she was just going to deal with this on her own was a scary thought to Annabeth, as she was in the same boat and she wasn't even sure how to handle her situation right now.

Alexa fully broke down in Annabeth's lap. She was crying so hard she couldn't breathe and all she could do was make attempts at gasping for air but it looked more like a fish out of water just moving its mouth as it flailed around for help.

With her good hand, Annabeth gently rubbed the girl's back and tried to get her to calm down. She whispered quietly in her ear that everything would be okay and that no one would hurt her in that way ever again. Even though Annabeth wasn't exactly sure what that way was, Alexa seemed to accept the whispers and calmed but only slightly.

"Hey, do you play any instruments . . . or does your dear older brother play anything?"

Alexa sucked in a deep breath and looked at Annabeth like she was insane. "What?"

"Music helps heal the soul. I personally feel better when I can play something. It helps my anxiety. My mother showed me a technique to help me when I couldn't stop the attacks with normal methods of grounding."

Alexa had been truly startled by Annabeth's question and she almost instantly had stopped crying but she was now in that phase of a lot of snot and quick rapid breathing that made it sound like she was having an asthma attack. All she could do was shake her head no but then she stopped and cocked her head to the side, lost deep in thought. She quickly jumped out of Annabeth's lap and sucked in several deep breaths again as she made her way to Percy's closet.

She disappeared behind the door and Annabeth could hear a few things being moved around against the wall.

"Annabeth, help me!"

She got up slowly and walked into Percy's closet to find Alexa standing on a suit case reaching for something on the top shelf.

Alexa turned and looked at Annabeth, "Well, don't just stand there! I'm not tall enough," she said through large gulps of air.

Annabeth giggled and stepped behind Alexa. She stood up on tip toe and winced as the muscles in her legs screamed at her. She slowly raised both arms and her fingers landed on a large case. Her fingers grasped at the edge of the case looking for some kind of handle. She finally found it and slowly pulled the case toward them, testing the weight. She didn't want her arms to give out and drop whatever it was on top of Alexa's head.

The case was heavier than Annabeth anticipated but she managed to keep it from falling and Alexa helped by grabbing the bottom of it and supporting a good chunk of the weight. Annabeth recognized the case almost instantly now that it was in full view. She quickly took it out to the bedroom and dropped it on Percy's bed.

"Should we play in here or go out to the living room," Annabeth asked without looking up.

"Living room," Alexa answered as she sniffled and sucked in several more deep breaths.

Annabeth looked up at her and smiled sadly at her. "Go wash your face and blow your nose. Maybe not in that order though. I will go get this read in the other room."

Alexa did as she was told and Annabeth made her way to the living room with the heavy case. She carefully set it down on the floor in front of the sofa and then realized the closest plug was by the window. 'Not enough room for all of us over there,' She thought, 'but no choice really.' She pulled out the stand and opened it all of the way and set it a couple of feet in front of the chair. She then pulled out the pedals and plug and stuck them under the stand. Next was the giant keyboard. It was in pristine condition and looked like it had never been touched. She carefully pulled it out and balanced it on her legs using her good hand to keep it from falling.

Thankfully Alexa came out in time to help her lift it onto the stand. She was still gulping in deep, fast breaths of air and Annabeth hoped that this would be enough to calm her down completely. Alexa continued to watch as Annabeth quickly plugged in the keyboard and turned on the power. Annabeth quickly sat down in the chair and before pulling the keyboard closer, held out a hand to Alexa. She carefully took it as Annabeth guided her into her lap. She pulled the keyboard closer and then asked, "Do you play?"

Alexa shook her head no and replied, "Percy does."

Annabeth looked at Percy through the bar opening and smiled. He had his back to them and was still busy with whatever he was making for dinner. She carefully lifted Alexa's left hand and placed it on top of her cast. Alexa followed suit and placed her right hand on top of Annabeth's, trying carefully not to cause too much weight on her hands. Annabeth lifted her fingers to the keys and wiggled her fingers on her left hand to make sure she had enough movement and then she started to play. The lullaby her mother wrote for her poured out of her fingers and she felt Alexa relax completely in her.

* * *

Percy had occupied himself with dinner so much that he never heard the girls move into the living room. He wanted to check on Alexa but he figured that if Annabeth really needed him she would have come to him for help.

All of the trauma since the hit and run was beginning to take its toll on him. He looked down at his cast and bandaged hand and wondered how he got here. It wasn't like Percy to have an angry bone in his body but something in him just snapped. He sighed and went back to watching the chicken he was frying. Last thing he wanted was a burned dinner though it would match his mood at the moment.

He knew how he could help Alexa, so her issues, while at the forefront of him mind were not what he was worried about. Annabeth was his main concern and not just because he was sleeping with her. He could see it in her eyes and on her face when he touched her. She didn't seem to mind Alexa being clingy at the moment but he knew she was having a hard time with him and it pained his heart.

Percy finished the chicken and checked on the other sides he made and then turned the stove off. He was about to head to his room to get the girls but he stopped suddenly as he heard the keyboard come to life in the living room. The breath he just took caught in his chest and was frozen on the spot.


	11. Chapter 11

Another possible trigger chapter and a little language thrown in as well...mostly toward the end of the chapter. Updates will come much slower as my free time was just thrown out the window. I will try to be back within a week! Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them! Read, review and enjoy!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan or Ed Sheeran.**

 ** _Chapter 11_**

The music coming from Annabeth was beyond beautiful but at the same time Percy wanted to throw the keyboard out the window. He never thought it would ever be pulled out again and was regretting that he never sold the thing when he had the chance.

Percy blinked back the tears and slowly walked into the living room and genuinely smiled at the sight in front of him despite the emotions running through him. Annabeth was sitting in the chair with Alexa in her lap and hands on top of Annabeth's. She played a song he had never heard before but that didn't stop him from instantly liking it. "Hey ladies. Dinner's ready."

Annabeth looked up at him and smiled and continued to play.

"Let her finish Perce. I like this song," Alexa exclaimed as Percy sat down on the arm of the chair.

Percy simply nodded and watched as Annabeth's fingers glided effortlessly over the keys. Her foot on the pedal, would press down causing the sound to change and hold the sound longer and he was amazed at how she easily combined the two. The last time he saw someone play with such ease, other than his mother, was his half-brother Tyson. He had bought the keyboard as a birthday present for his brother but he never got to give it to him.

Tyson passed away a week before his birthday. He and Percy's step-mother were on their way to meet Percy and Poseidon for a surprise dinner when they were hit head on by a texting teenager. The girl survived and left a part of Percy's family broken and grieving. Tyson was pronounced dead on the scene and his step-mother let go not long after the entire family was gathered to see her.

Percy glared at the keyboard, angry at the memories that were flooding him right now. He felt something on his knee and he looked down to see Annabeth's hand gently squeezing his knee cap.

"You okay?"

Percy again blinked away the tears and then shook his head and said, "Yeah. I was just thinking about some things."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not right now. Let's just eat and relax. Alexa, please go get the plates and silverware ready for us."

Percy watched as Alexa jumped up and ran to the kitchen to do as she was told. He then turned his attention back to Annabeth and stood up from the arm and held his hands out to help her up.

"What a pair we are. You with two bum hands and me with the broken wrist that is never going to heal," She said with a small giggle.

Percy smiled at her and slowly pulled her in for a hug. He felt her tense slightly and then quickly relax as he rested his head on top of hers. "Thank you for being so wonderful with her."

Annabeth smiled slightly and looked up at Percy. "No problem. She is a sweet kid . . . I just hope this whole ordeal doesn't break her."

Percy simply nodded and then pushed the keyboard out of the way so they could get to the kitchen easier.

Annabeth found his bandaged hand with her good one and as he started to walk she stopped him by not moving and pulling him back. She stood up on tip toe and kissed him on the forehead. "Give me time Percy." She ran her finger tips of her cast hand down the side of his face. All he could do was smile weakly and nod. He would do whatever she needed and if time is what she needed he would give it to her.

* * *

Percy woke on the sofa to find himself alone in the living room, the menu to The Hunger Games running on a loop on his television. He stretched and sighed and tried to block the images of his dreams from his mind.

A week ago their lives were turned upside down. He managed to get Alexa in with great therapist and with his mom and step-dad's help, she is healing. His dad was also on top of every legal thing they needed for her, so that was an added bonus. Annabeth had been amazing with her this week as well and has promised her their own private therapy sessions at his mother's before their weekly dinners. Annabeth promised her she would be there for her as long as she needed her and Alexa graciously accepted. Progress. There was progress with at least one of them.

Annabeth on the other hand was falling apart. Percy could see it in her eyes. Since the incident she had spent every night at his place. He went with her back to her apartment after they dropped Alexa off with his mom and Paul and all hell broke loose. He followed her into the apartment that hadn't been touched and she flipped. It took him almost an hour and half to calm her down and get what they needed and get out before she had another anxiety attack. She spent most of Sunday evening at the keyboard, pouring her soul into the songs she played.

While it pained Percy to look at the keyboard sitting out, he accepted the fact that it was needed. He couldn't change the past but he could help change the future.

He stretched again and shut the television off and made his way to the bedroom. He stopped when he saw that Annabeth was still awake. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees and looking out the window in front of her. He slowly made his way to her and sat down next to her. For the first time in the past week she didn't shy away from him. Instead she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed deeply.

"We need to talk Percy."

He carefully placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He rested his chin on her head and she hugged him back.

"Can we talk in the morning," Percy asked cautiously. "I am not trying to blow you or your needs off, I am just beyond exhausted right now."

She smiled up at him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Yeah," she replied quietly.

* * *

Annabeth didn't sleep more than two hours that night. Visions from a week ago haunted her dreams and it made it almost impossible for her to sleep anymore. When Percy woke, he found her back in the same spot at the foot of the bed, just as she was when he found in the wee hours of the morning.

"Did you sleep at all?"

She shook her head no. "Well a little bit. The dreams wake me constantly." She didn't even turn around to answer him. She just kept staring out the window.

Percy sighed. "Come here babe." He held his arms out to her and watched as she slowly turned around. Her eyes were puffy but he didn't think she had been crying, just sleep deprived. She carefully crawled over to him and folded herself into his arms. He missed this. He missed her.

She looked up at him and kissed his cheek. "Percy," She started but he cut her off. He pressed his lips to hers and he felt her pull back slightly. After a moment she leaned into the kiss. They pulled away a few minutes later and there were tears in her eyes. "Percy, my designs, with your help are being used on the Texas project. I leave in three weeks," She squeaked out through more tears.

Percy sighed and hugged her to him. "Congratulations," he whispered through his tears.

"You're mad."

"No . . . just sad. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond ecstatic for you Annabeth. I really and truly am. I know how much getting this project means to you and just how much you will get to move up in your mom's firm with this job, but . . ." Percy let his voice trailed off.

Annabeth pushed herself up on her right elbow and looked him as tears rolled down her cheeks. "But what?"

"What about us?"

"What **about** us? Just because I am going to Texas doesn't mean that we stop being us," She cried to him.

"Well . . . I won't get to see you that often. A couple of days every month max. I don't know that I can do that Annabeth." He moved a stray curl from her face and gently tucked it behind her ear.

Annabeth stared at him intently. His eyes, usually alive like the ocean currents seemed almost dead at this moment.

"What do you mean _'you can't do that,'_ are you saying that you aren't even willing to work on a long distance relationship?"

Percy shook his head and forced the two of them to sit up. "That's not what I mean." He pulled her closer to him and he felt her tense in his lap. He didn't let that stop him as he pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head. "I told you that I would wait for you in whatever capacity you need me to wait. I stand by every word. But Annabeth, I went from waiting to having you in my life almost daily for the past month. I don't want to move backwards in that regard to us."

Annabeth pulled herself out of his hug and watched as tears slid down his cheeks.

"I know that is insanely selfish of me, but I can't even begin to tell you how much I love you," He whispered to her.

A tear slid down Annabeth's cheek as she gently placed a hand on his cheek to wipe away his tears. "I love you too," she whispered.

* * *

Two days later, things between Percy and Annabeth weren't any better than they were when she told him that she was going to be leaving for Texas. She was currently locked in the bathroom, the hot water in the shower running. She was gripping the edge of the sink tightly trying to suck in a deep breath but wasn't having a lot of luck with all of the steam in the air.

"Relax Annabeth. Just relax," she whispered to herself. She squeezed the sink tighter and closed her eyes. She pushed herself angrily away from the sink and turned to fast and caught her shin on a stool that Alexa didn't put away. She didn't have time to catch herself and she landed on her butt next to the shower door.

"Shit!" Annabeth quickly kicked the stool out of the way and leaned back on the shower door. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She dropped her head to her knees and started to cry. After a few moments she was rocking and hitting her head on the door. She was allowing her world to crash around her. It was so much easier to deal with physical pain right now than the pain of everything else going on around her. The pain of leaving Percy for so long, the pain of breaking her promise to Alexa, the pain that Luke caused her. It was all too much for her to take.

Annabeth didn't remember getting up and digging through the medicine cabinet but she did. She didn't remember finding the medical scissors in the first aid kit but they were in her hand. Her world was a sudden blur of pain and angry visions of her rape. She sat back down against the shower door and opened the little scissors all of the way. She managed to wedge them into her fingers on her left hand, making sure to use part of her cast as a lever. She propped her right wrist up on her knee and angled it so that she didn't have to use too much force on her left wrist.

The scissors didn't cut very deep but the burning sensation caused an oddly freeing sensation throughout the rest of her body. Without looking, she ran the scissors across her wrist again. The burning sensation appeared again and this time it was stronger. Her chest felt lighter and she was breathing a bit easier at the moment. She moved her hand again and the burning sensation returned yet again, but this time a warm tingling sensation was running down her arm. She ignored it and went for another slice.

She was pulled from all of her feelings to see Percy in her face calling her name.

". . . nabeth! What in the hell are you doing?" He yanked the scissors out of her hand and threw them in the sink.

He was screaming at her and she didn't know why. She was trying to resurface from her small moment of euphoria and she was only catching bits and pieces of what he was saying to her.

"Jesus, Annabeth, you are so freaking lucky you didn't do any real damage," He yelled at her as he wrapped her wrist in a towel.

He tried to help her up but she wouldn't budge so he just threw a towel over her.

"I'm sorry Percy," she mumbled as he dug through the first aid kit.

He tensed as he heard her apology and then quickly pulled everything down to the floor. He sat down next to her and took her wrist into his hand and removed the blood stained towel. He sighed heavily as he looked at the angry marks on her wrist. "Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"Huh?" Annabeth looked at him confused and went back to leaning against the shower door.

"I said, were you trying to kill yourself?" Percy was losing his patience with her and his words came out harsh.

Annabeth was still lost in her own world and started hitting her head on the shower door again.

"STOP IT," Percy screamed at the top of his lungs.

Annabeth couldn't stop though. The weak pains shooting down the back of her head were soothing to her and allowing her to escape everything.

Percy ran from the bathroom and grabbed his phone. He quickly dialed Thalia and didn't even wait for her to say hello. "I **NEED** you here **NOW**!" He quickly hung up the phone and threw it on his bed. He ran back into the bathroom to find Annabeth in the same position, still beating her head on the door. He ran over and sat back down next to her unsure of what to do. Her wrist was bleeding again and he decided to clean that up before Thalia showed up and they were forced to drag her to the psych ward.

Percy quickly cleaned the wounds and placed Neosporin across the worst of them before wrapping her wrist in gauze. As soon as he was finished Thalia came barreling through the front door.

"PERCY? PERCY WHERE ARE YOU?" She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"My bathroom. Get in here now!"

Thalia quickly ran through his apartment and stopped in his bathroom door. She stood shocked but only for a second. She had seen behavior like this before at work. It was not something she ever thought her best friend would succumb to and she was suddenly at a loss.

"Thalia, what do we do? I don't know how to help her." Percy was on the verge of tears and his eyes were pleading with his cousin to tell him what to do.

Thalia sucked in a deep breath and walked over to Annabeth. She sat down next to her and took her hand. "Percy, what the hell happened here? Why is there blood all over?"

"She cut herself," He sighed sadly.

"Was she trying to kill herself?" Thalia was trying to remain calm but things were by far worse than she thought they would ever get.

"I don't think so. There were a bunch of little cuts and two bigger cuts . . ."

"She wasn't trying to kill herself," Thalia interrupted him. "She's cutting to drown out the pain." Thalia moved her hands so they were now cupping Annabeth's face. She pulled her closer to her and stared into her dull gray eyes. "Beth, can you hear me?" Annabeth simply blinked at her and continued to try and hit her head on the door. "Annabeth Chase! You look at me right now," Thalia screamed at her.

Annabeth was drowning. She could hear Thalia calling to her. She wanted to slap her for calling her Beth. Thalia knew how much she hated that nick name. She could feel her eyes flutter to Thalia's face, they didn't stay though.

"You're in there," Thalia whispered. "I know you are. What do you need Annabeth? Just tell us what you need," Thalia pleaded with her.

Annabeth continued to rock and hit and suddenly Thalia remembered something she had told her about her childhood. "Percy, sing. Sing to her. Music is the key to her anxiety. Pull her into your lap and sing to her. She needs something to pull her back."

Percy sighed and pulled her into his lap. He carefully placed her so that her back was against his chest, as he tried to block her from hitting her head anymore. "This better work," He growled at Thalia and she slammed her head into his collar bone.

 ** _'Darlin' hold me in your arms  
The way you did last night  
And we'll lie inside  
A little while here, oh'_**

Thalia looked at Percy and interjected, "That is a depressing song Percy!"

"Shut it Thals, I am only singing the chorus to her. What matters is that I mean it, right?"

Thalia sighed and nodded for him to continue.

 ** _'I could look into your eyes  
Until the sun comes up  
And we're wrapped in light and life and love'_**

Annabeth continued to try to slam her head into him and Percy had to adjust his hold on her so that all she could do was push against him. He continued on, singing to her with all of his heart, meaning every last word he sang.

 ** _'Put your open lips on mine  
And slowly let them shut  
For they're designed to be together, oh'_**

'Finally, progress,' Percy thought as he felt her relax. She was listening to him now and not grinding her skull into his collar bone anymore. He sucked in a deep breath and continued.

 ** _'With your body next to mine  
Our hearts will beat as one  
And we're set alight  
We're afire love  
I could look into your eyes  
Until the sun comes up  
And we're wrapped in light and life and love'_**

Percy started the chorus over again and he felt Annabeth go limp. Thalia pulled the towel up over her and Percy pressed on as her once rapid breathing began to slow.

 ** _'Put your open lips on mine  
And slowly let them shut  
For they're designed to be together, oh  
With your body next to mine  
Our hearts will beat as one  
And we're set alight  
We're afire love'_**

Finally Annabeth broke the surface of her catatonic state. She buried her face in Percy's shirt as the tears poured out of her.

"I am sorry, so sorry Percy. Please forgive me. Forgive me. Just say you forgive me," She pleaded with him. He wasn't answering her and all she could do was plead and pray he would forgive her.

Percy continued to hold her close. He gently rocked her and let her cry.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry this update took a little longer than I had planned. It's been a crazy week around here but school starts tomorrow and my freedom returns! So read, review and enjoy!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

 **Chapter 12**

Annabeth pulled her legs into the chair looked up at the woman behind the desk. "You don't mind do you?" Annabeth pointed at her legs and the woman smiled back at her.

"Not at all. As long as you are comfortable."

Annabeth sighed and leaned back into the chair completely. "So . . . how does this work?"

The woman quickly finished writing in her notebook and then picked herself up, along with the notebook and made her way around the desk. She slowly sat down across from Annabeth looked at her with caring blue eyes. "Well . . . you talk. You can either pour your heart out to me or I can ask questions and we can work through your responses. It's up to you."

"How about you ask questions and I will attempt to answer." Annabeth couldn't look at the woman. She simply kept her gaze on her hands in her lap.

The woman leaned forward and with her pen, lightly tapped Annabeth's cast. "What happened here?"

Annabeth glanced up and the woman leaned back, her pen poised, ready to take down anything Annabeth said. She took in a deep breath and then filled the woman in on the car wreck and how Percy had saved her from being hit head on by the speeding car. She then told her how Luke had crushed her cast around her wrist and helped her to fracture her wrist all over again. She watched as the woman nodded and jotted down quick notes.

The woman stopped for a minute and looked at her carefully, almost as if deciding how she should proceed with the next question. She then pointed her pen at Annabeth's bandaged wrist. "And what happened here?"

Annabeth turned her head to the side and tried to blink back the tears. "Do we have to go there right now?"

The woman leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. "I know this is hard for you Annabeth, but we have to work through things to get you back on track. So please, tell me what happened to your wrist."

Annabeth looked down at her wrist and back up at the woman and the tears poured out of her eyes. "Have you ever wished that you could just take back control of your life when it is suddenly thrown into a downward spiral?"

"Yes."

Annabeth looked up to the see the woman looking at her with complete understanding in her eyes. "I just wanted the pain to stop. I . . . I . . . I don't know how to explain it."

"Try," The woman urged her on.

"I felt like my entire world was crumbling around me. For the past two weeks I have been dealing with the stress of Luke and what he did to me. I can't push it to the back of mind. He took away my security, my faith that man is more good than evil, my ability to protect myself."

The woman nodded and asked, "Did you try to protect yourself?"

"Yes. I failed miserably."

"Did you tell him no? Did you ask him to stop? Did you fight back to the best of your ability?"

Tears were leaving salty streams down Annabeth's face and she answered with a shaky voice, "Yes, yes and no."

"Why do you say no?"

"I should have been able to take him. I have had Judo and self-defense classes. He shouldn't have been able to take me like that." Annabeth's tone was defeated as she tried to calm herself.

"Annabeth, you were asleep when he attacked you. He is also a good six or seven inches taller than you, not to mention he had some weight on you as well."

"I still . . ." Her voice trailed off as she shook her head.

"Look at me." Annabeth did as she was told and the woman continued on, "You did everything you could. You even managed to call your boyfriend whom, if my notes are correct, saved you from Luke."

Annabeth nodded and out of instinct went to press her hands into her eyes in an attempt to slow the tears. "Damn cast!" She dropped her broken wrist back in her lap and looked away.

"Annabeth, you did everything you possibly could to protect yourself. You have to stop beating yourself up over Luke's actions. You cannot physically control what someone else does to you when they attack in a way where you cannot truly fight for yourself."

"I just . . . how long is it going to take to get over this. The nightmares are continuous. I don't sleep and when I do it is fitful and not restful."

"That will depend on you." The woman placed her notebook and pen on the desk next to her and pulled herself to the edge of the chair. "It's going to take time. This is not something you can just forget. You went through something extremely traumatizing and it's not something that can be fixed overnight. You are going to have a long road ahead of you simply because you are going to be asked to drag all of this back up again when he goes to trial."

Annabeth sighed heavily and let the sobs consume her. She didn't even think about all of this coming back up again with the trial.

"Do you spend much time with Percy?"

Annabeth tried to calm herself but all she could do was nod.

The woman handed her a box of tissues and she pulled out several and shoved them to her face. "I am at his place every day. I can't bear to go back home." Annabeth was quiet for a moment and the woman watched her carefully. "How do I make things go back to normal with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"When he touches me, I flinch. I can't help it. When he hugs me, I pull away before allowing him to hug me fully. I can tell he is getting frustrated with me but he won't say anything and he just trudges on waiting for me."

"Percy is going to have to learn to wait for you Annabeth. I hate to say that, but at the same time you are going to have to learn to trust him. He is going to be your biggest asset. Percy is also going through his own struggle. He asked me to share this with you because he can't seem to get through to you without making you upset."

"I am not ready to deal with his struggle though. I can't even deal with mine," She cried.

"You can't ignore him Annabeth. You live with him for crying out loud. You have to learn to trust him and listen to him." The woman leaned back slowly in her chair picking up the notebook and pen again. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Annabeth managed to squeak out.

* * *

Annabeth quietly put her key in the lock and pushed on the door and let herself in. "Perce, are you here?"

She dropped her keys and purse on the side table by the door and listened for him as she then shut the door. "Percy?"

She walked in and found him dozing on the sofa. He looked so peaceful lying there that she wasn't sure she wanted to wake him. She carefully sat down next to him and watched as he stirred ever so slightly. She carefully kicked off her shoes and laid down next to him.

Percy rolled toward her and draped an arm over her waist, gently pulling her toward him. Annabeth buried her face in his chest, taking in a deep breath of the warm sea smell that was him. She would talk to him later. Right now she just wanted to be with him.

They only had two weeks left before she was on a plane to Texas and she was going to suck it up and try to move on from her rape. As she thought about it, images from that night flashed through her mind. She quickly bit the inside of her cheek and willed the images away. She could do this. She could be happy with Percy and not worry about shying away from him at the same time.

At some point while lying next to Percy, Annabeth had managed to fall asleep. It wasn't a fitful sleep and she was comfortable next to Percy for the first time in two weeks. And then something changed. She felt Percy shift next to her and his movements were only enough to pull her from her deep sleep but not wake her completely.

Her senses were heightened as she tried to wake herself completely and as she started to come to, all she could feel was Percy's presence above her. She knew it wasn't Luke and she also knew that Percy was not about to try something she fully didn't want right now but her mind went into panic mode. Before she knew what was happening she had her arms around Percy and had flipped him to her right, causing him to crash into the coffee table. There was a loud thud that followed almost instantly as he crashed to the ground with the broken table.

"DAMMIT ANNABETH, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"I am _so_ sorry Percy," Annabeth squeaked through her tears. She quickly jumped up and held a hand out to him but he slapped it away and Annabeth inched back away from him. "I am truly sorry Percy," She whimpered as she held her hand out to him again.

Percy didn't take her hand again and instead pushed himself up off of the floor. He watched her carefully as she took a timid step toward him. "Don't," He growled at her as he rubbed his back side.

Annabeth dropped her hand and then her head and let the tears flow. She decided it was best to not be in his sight at this moment and took off to the spare room that Alexa used when she stayed with him. She quickly ran into the room and slammed the door. She cursed silently when she realized there was no lock on the door. She didn't want to really keep Percy out but right now he didn't want to deal with her which in turn made her not want to deal with him.

She placed her back against the door and tried to force everything away. She wasn't going to hurt herself again, despite the deep desire to do so. She slid down the door until her butt hit the floor and she wrapped her arms around her knees and dropped her head and cried.

She cried so long that she was sure that she was going to run out of tears but sleep found her first.

* * *

Percy could only watch as she ran down the hall to his sister's room. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the emotional drama right now. He was simply trying to get up without waking her and that managed to spark the panic in her mind that someone was going to hurt her.

He turned to look down at the broken coffee table and kneeled down to pick up one of the broken legs.

 _'Why did this have to happen? Why did Luke have to ruin everything? Why is Annabeth having such a hard time moving on from this?'_

Percy kept asking himself these questions on a daily basis and it was driving him mad. He suddenly realized what he was doing not only to himself but more importantly Annabeth.

Angered by his sudden realization at what he had done, Percy let out an angry growl and chunked the broken leg across the room and watched as it hit is front with a resonating thud.

He quickly got up and ran to his sister's door but Annabeth's sobs on the inside made his heart stop and he decided that now was not the time to apologize.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry that this is more of a filler chapter. Setting up for the next phase of things to come! Read, review and enjoy!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

 **Chapter 13**

Annabeth walked into her new apartment in the hotel suite, thanking God she had a reprieve from the Texas heat. Her mother failed to mention to her that she was going to melt once she got here and she also failed to mention the heat was going to last well into October. It was only the first full week of September and she already knew that she was not going to get used to this heat. She walked to her new room and quickly found shorts and a tee shirt, making her only slightly more comfortable than she was in her work clothes.

She was glad that her mother had everything unpacked and ready to go for her and she was also thankful that the layout was completely different from her old place as well as Percy's. She was grateful for the lack of reminders and yet she couldn't get him off her mind.

The last two weeks had been hell. She and Percy were speaking, but just barely. Things were beyond strained between the two of them right now. Percy tried to apologize to her for his behavior the night she flipped him onto the coffee table, and while she accepted the apology, she was still a bit frightened of him. She knew she had no reason to be, their emotions were running high and got the better of both of them, but she couldn't help but still be upset. She still blamed him for the cuts she added to her wrist the next morning even though she swore she wasn't going to do it anymore. It didn't matter though. Those few moments of pain were enough to keep her world from closing in on her and sending her into another catatonic state.

She sighed and walked into the kitchen, hoping her mother stocked that up for her as well. She opened the fridge door and smiled at the wide variety of foods staring back at her. She grabbed an apple from the crisper, shut the door and walked over to the balcony door.

She opened the sliding glass door and the warm ocean breeze hit her face coupled with humidity. She stepped out and sat down at the patio table and started to munch lightly on the apple. She was enjoying the sound of the ocean lapping up against the shore wall, amazed at how it drowned out the sound of the traffic below when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She pulled the phone from her pocket and set it on the table. She was supposed to text Percy when she got in but had been avoiding him. Right now she just wanted to enjoy the change. She wished he was there with her to enjoy the view, much as they had on her birthday when they looked out at the ocean from the Ferris wheel at Coney Island.

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She missed that Percy. The one who had waited for her. The one who wanted nothing more than to be in her presence. She opened her eyes again and picked up the phone. She quickly unlocked the screen and checked her messages.

 _I just wanted to check in and see if your move went okay. I miss you and I will see you at the end of the month! Call me when you get a chance. Thals*_

Annabeth smiled and instantly sent a message back to her best friend. Thalia was the only one through all of this who had remained indifferent to the drama. She was there when Annabeth needed a shoulder and she swore she always would be. It made her sad that she wouldn't get to see her whenever she wanted anymore but she was glad that they would get to hang out at least once a month while she was on this year long journey.

She slowly lost her smile as she realized she really did need to let Percy know she was okay. Annabeth scrolled through her contacts and stopped on Percy's name. Her thumb hovered over the call and message button and she decided to just call him.

Her heart started racing as his phone rang several times on the other end. She was just about to hang up when he finally answered.

"Hey babe," He answered, slightly out of breath.

As much as she hated the pet name, she missed him calling her by it. "Hey you," She replied sheepishly. "I made it okay and mom had the apartment completely ready for me so . . ."

"You sound sad," He said, cutting off of her thought.

She shook her head no and then remembered he couldn't see her. "Not sad. Just contemplating things."

"Like what?"

"Us," She whispered in his ear.

"What about us," He whispered back.

"I . . . I . . . God, why does this have to be so damn hard?" She pushed herself back in the chair even farther and pushed the heel of her free hand into her temple.

"Calm down babe. You're kind of scaring me at the moment."

"Sorry. I'm just in a bit of a mood. It's hot as hell here, I feel weird, and at the moment I am a little lonely. I honestly keep expecting you to walk through the door any minute. It's funny the things you get used to and don't realize you miss until they aren't there anymore."

There was an awkward silence between the two of them and then Annabeth spoke up again, "Where on earth are you anyway?"

"Oh, I am . . . I'm still at work. Some school group showed up for the late tour and here I am, stuck."

"Oh. I should let you go then. Call me when you get home okay." She was quiet in her tone but she at least meant it this time when she told him to call her. "Love you Perce, talk to you soon," And with that she hung up the phone.

She pushed herself back in the chair balancing on the back two legs and let the tears fall. She was tired of crying all of the time but she couldn't seem to stop. So much was weighing on her and despite trying to move past things, she just wasn't able. She closed her eyes and tried to will it all away.

* * *

Percy didn't get the chance to object as Annabeth quickly hung up on him. He almost blew his surprise for her and was thankful no one called any flights over the intercom as he was on the phone with her.

He had decided he would do whatever he could to help her move past the issues with Luke as well as the ones he helped cause between the two of them.

He was on the phone the morning after the coffee table incident with the Texas State Aquarium, practically begging them to take him on full time during the duration of the project. It took some convincing but finally the administrator of the aquarium decided that he would be an asset during the entire remodel.

He was going to use this time to help Annabeth heal and help her move on and that meant that he needed to be there for her. Yes his sister needed him as well but she had more than enough people looking after her whereas Annabeth had no one. He was going to be whatever she needed him to be and if that meant that he was going to be her punching bag, so be it. All he wanted was to be in her presence again.

Percy took it upon himself after securing the job to call Annabeth's mother. He needed to know where the new apartment was and he also needed to know if he could possibly get a key. Athena Chase thanked him for wanting to take care of her daughter. She knew things were rough of her and she just couldn't clear her schedule enough to help her the way she should. She gave Percy the address and assured him that when he showed up, there would be a key waiting for him at the front desk.

Percy quickly made his way down to the baggage claim and waited on his two large suit cases. As soon as they came around he grabbed them and made his way to the exit. He prayed there was a taxi outside and thanked God as he walked out to find one pulling in right in front of him.

Percy wasn't too worried about losing the cab. In all honesty, this was the smallest airport he had ever been in and while the inside was fairly busy, outside told a different story. Everyone seemed to be running away from the city and just in the two minutes he had spent outside helping the driver throw his bags in the trunk, he was drenched. He now knew Annabeth wasn't kidding when she told him it was hot as hell here.

Percy quickly climbed into the back of the cab and the driver followed suit. He turned around and asked, "Where to man?"

"Ummm . . ." He trailed off and then found the slip of paper in his pocket and finished his thought, "900 North Shoreline Boulev . . ."

The driver smiled up at him and cut his sentence off, "The Omni! Got it. We should be there in about fifteen minutes."

Percy leaned back in the seat, grateful for the cool air that was coming through the vents. Without thinking he asked the driver, "How on earth do you guys do it?"

"Do what," He replied back.

"Live in this heat! I've been here for ten minutes and I am already drenched."

"Well, for one we don't wear pants in the summer. And two, we are just used to it. You really do grow accustomed to the heat."

Percy sighed and leaned back into the seat. He closed his eyes for what seemed like just a minute when the driver said, "Hey man, you're here."

Percy shook his head to clear the haze. He glanced down at the fare counter and quickly pulled two twenties out of his wallet and handed them over. "Keep the change."

The driver nodded at him and was out of the car, quickly pulling Percy's bags out of the trunk for him. Percy slowly climbed out of the cab and stretched and nodded to the driver.

"Enjoy your stay." And with that the driver was back in cab and pulling out of the drop off lane.

Percy grabbed his bags, made his way inside the lavish hotel and slowly took in everything that was in front of him. It never dawned on him just how much Athena Chase was worth, which meant that Annabeth was worth just as much. He was used to lavish things thanks to his father being a big named lawyer and his massive trust fund, but there was no way that his trust would ever cover a yearlong stay at this place.

He quickly went to the front desk and gave the receptionist his information. She quickly produced a key and sent him toward the elevators.

Suddenly he was sick. What if Annabeth didn't want him there? What if she didn't want to see him right now? He stepped into the elevator and hit the button labeled 18 and waited as the car slowly pulled him up to the eighteenth floor. The doors opened and he stepped out, looking down the hall to his right. He shook his head and took off to the nearest door on the left and stopped in front of it.

Percy pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly called Annabeth back. He didn't want to startle her by just walking into the apartment and having another incident like at his old place.

He waited patiently as the phone rang on the other end and then went to voicemail. 'Crap!' He hung up and tried one more time. This time on the fourth ring she finally answered.

"Hey Percy," She said through a yawn. "You home now?"

"Almost babe. Did I wake you up or something?"

"Yeah. I fell asleep out on the balcony."

Percy sucked in a deep breath, unlocked the door and stepped into the amazing Ambassador Suite. "You okay? You just sound . . . off." He quietly walked through the unfamiliar rooms and stopped in the living area. He could see the back of her head against the chair on the balcony.

"Just really exhausted. This move took a lot more out of me than I thought it would and I had to jump straight into work today. I figured I would have the weekend but mom sent me straight in." She then yawned, stretched and almost fell out of the chair she was leaning back in.

Percy accidently giggled in the phone and Annabeth whipped around, actually falling out of the chair this time. "I'm home babe," He whispered into the phone and smiled at her jaw to the ground look.

A smile slowly spread across her face and she jumped up and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms just as she had the first time he showed up on her doorstep back home.


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you to all of the follows, faves and readers. I hope that you are enjoying the story! Sorry for the lack of updates. Been insanely busy and then went to see Ed Sheeran last night and well, if you haven't seen him perform, I high recommend him as he is utterly amazing and brilliant! So now on to the story! Read, review and enjoy!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

 **Chapter 14**

"I'm sorry Percy. I don't know how I can prove that to you," She breathed into his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

Percy ran his good hand up and down her back and she pressed herself into him even more. "No babe, I am sorry. I was so focused on all the wrong things." He kissed the top of her head and then carefully led her to the sofa.

"Look, I made a lot of mistakes since my birthday. Annabeth, in all honesty I was scared of what I did to Luke. I didn't know that I was capable of that kind of damage. It scared me. And then I didn't know how to deal with what you were going through. Everything just mounted and . . . just say you forgive me."

Annabeth looked up at him with tears in her eyes. ' _Dammit, here I go again!_ ' Her emotions were all over the place but she knew she needed to forgive him. She carefully moved so that she was straddling his lap. She wanted to be able to look directly at him as she spoke but words were escaping her at the moment.

Instead she ran her good hand though his hair. She sighed as she realized how much she missed the feeling of his hair through her fingers. "Can we just say all is forgiven? I know I haven't been the best person to deal with since your birthday. So can we just have a clean slate?"

Percy leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. "I don't want a clean slate. I don't want to start over. We have both been through something horrible. You more so than me and I want to move through it together. I don't want to just pretend things are back to normal, I want to create a new normal."

Tears were welling up in the corners of Annabeth's eyes and instead of answering him with words, all she could do was kiss him. She felt Percy slowly wrap his arms around her waist and to let him know that he didn't need to be worried about her pulling away, she wrapped her left arm around his neck and ran her good hand through his hair, pushing him toward her even more.

Percy could feel her trying to wrap her fingers around his hair on her casted hand and he pulled away from her with a smile plastered on his face. "I know, I know, damn cast!"

For the first time in almost a month Annabeth laughed. Not just a weak tension laugh but a genuine laugh that broke some of the hardened shell she developed after rape. She buried her face in his neck and continued to laugh.

Percy sighed in content and leaned into her. "I love you Annabeth Chase," He whispered into her hair.

"I love you too Percy Jackson," She giggled into his neck.

* * *

*One Month Later*

Annabeth woke to the sun beating on her back, making her feel like she was in an oven but she wasn't exactly sure that the sun's heat is what woke her up. She rolled slightly, only untangling herself from Percy's arms. She looked at the clock on the bedside table, ' _Six-forty-two. It should not be this bright, this early in the morning, nor should I be up this early,_ ' she thought to herself as she carefully stretched.

And then it happened, the thing that woke her up. She bolted straight up, holding a hand over her mouth, not caring whether she woke Percy or not.

She made a beeline for the bathroom and didn't even bother closing the door, there wasn't time, as she just barely made it to the toilet in time to throw up what little contents were left in her stomach from the night before.

Percy felt Annabeth jump out of bed and without thinking he followed her, fearing the worst. There hadn't been any nightmares since the move, no more cutting and very few tears the past month and Percy was beyond grateful they were getting back on track. But something about the way she bolted out of bed had him beyond worried.

He flew into the bathroom only steps behind her to see her practically fall in front of the toilet. He quickly gathered her blonde curls and pulled them away from her as face as she retched violently into the toilet.

It took every last ounce Percy had not to throw up with her but the urge passed when he heard her whimper as the retching turned into violent dry heaves. He gently rubbed her back and just when he thought she was done he felt another shudder run through her as the heaves began again.

After several more minutes, she finally pushed herself away from the toilet. Percy quickly flushed it to rid his nose of the smell and eyes of the sight. He got up and went over to the sink to get a wash cloth damp and took it back over to Annabeth, who was leaning against the wall with her knees pulled up and head down. She was still shaking slightly and Percy was beyond worried about her. He sat down next to her and gently wiped her temple with the damp cloth.

Annabeth slowly lifted her head, as if testing to see if she was going to start throwing up again. She smiled weakly at him and took the cloth and pressed it to her face. "This is not how I wanted this weekend to go," She mumbled into the cloth.

Percy gently pressed the inside of his forearm to her head. "You're a bit warm babe. Let's go crawl back into bed for a little bit."

Annabeth simply nodded and allowed Percy to help her to standing. Oddly enough, while incredibly weak, she felt fine. She followed behind him back to the bedroom and stopped at the curtains. She paused to take in the beauty that was the Corpus Christi Bay and wondered what was wrong with her. She hadn't been sick like that since she was in college and absolutely hated it.

She quickly yanked the curtains closed all of the way and crawled back into bed next to Percy. She was snuggled into his warmth for only a matter of minutes before she was out cold again.

Annabeth woke later to find the bed empty and only a note on the pillow to keep her company.

 _'Hey babe,  
Went to pick up Thals from the airport. Should be back around two-thirty. I left you some soup on the stove. Didn't want to wake you.  
Love you,  
Percy'_

Annabeth rolled to look at the clock on Percy's bedside table and shook her head. ' _Two-fifteen. Crap! I slept all dang day!_ '

Just as she was about to push herself up to sitting, an overwhelming nausea came over her. She gingerly laid back down and prayed for the feeling to pass.

Moments later there was the sound of laughter and bags dropping in the living area, and then muffled voices. At first they were quiet but then Annabeth heard them loud and clear.

"I am waking her up!"

"Thalia, please let her sleep! She didn't even get up to eat."

"Stop me Jackson," Thalia exclaimed and dashed off to the bedroom.

Annabeth pulled her knees up and then pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes in preparation of Thalia's entrance.

"Well, at least you are alive," her friend said softly.

"Just barely," Annabeth practically whispered back.

Without warning, Thalia made a leap on to the bed, causing Annabeth to bounce several times. The sudden jolt didn't go over well and Annabeth bolted back to the bathroom with Thalia on her heels.

Annabeth quickly crouched down next to the toilet and tried desperately to will the nausea away with no luck.

Thalia grabbed her blonde curls and held them back as she began to dry heave.

As soon as the nausea subsided, Annabeth leaned back into the cool tile wall. "Sorry, this is not exactly how I planned on spending my week off with you."

"So when you going to tell him," Thalia asked as she sat down next to Annabeth.

"Tell who what?"

"Percy. And you know what I am talking about. Don't play dumb with me Annie," Thalia said dryly.

Annabeth looked at Thalia quizzically and shook her head. "Girl, you have lost it. I haven't a clue what you a talking about!"

Thalia sighed at looked at her best friend. "You're pregnant you dummy! How have you not figured that out yet? Look at you!"

Annabeth shook her head, "No, Thals, I am not! I cannot have a baby right now!"

"Doesn't matter if you can or can't love, you are _so_ pregnant," Thalia whispered as she placed a hand on Annabeth's lower abdomen.

Annabeth shook her head no and jumped up with Thalia following quickly behind her.

"Annabeth, trust me on this, you are totally knocked up. I will have Percy run me to town and grab a test for you if you want."

"No."

"Annie . . ."

"Quit calling me that. You're wrong. We have been safe and I am due to start tomorrow! I have a bug and that's it."

"Yeah, one called the nine month flu!"

Annabeth elbowed Thalia in the gut while flashing an ugly glare her direction. "Not a word of this to Percy. We are finally back on track and this is the last thing we need right now."

Thalia threw her hands up and dropped her head down. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

*Two Days Later*

"So, you still on track there?"

Annabeth looked up from her blueprints confused and then let out a defeated sigh. "No. Dammit, this is all your fault!"

"Excuse me?" Thalia questioned as she choked on her spoonful of ice cream.

"You have me all stressed about this now. Therefore, _your_ fault!" Annabeth let out an exasperated sigh and went back to her blueprints.

She heard Thalia get up, but she decided to just keep her eyes on her work. The next thing she knew a small box landed in the middle of her work. "What the hell Thals?"

"Just go pee on the damn thing and put our minds at ease will you." Thalia crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at Annabeth like an angry parent.

Any other time, Annabeth would have ignored her friend but there was a tugging at the back of her mind telling her she needed to know whether she was pregnant or not.

She sighed and dropped her head to the table and mumbled, "Do I have to?"

"Annie, get your butt in there now!" Thalia pointed in the direction of Annabeth's bathroom and waited for her friend to get up. "Do it before I rip the chair out from under you!"

"Some friend you are! I could be pregnant and here you are wanting to rip chairs out from under me!"

"Shut it and get up!"

Annabeth mumbled something under her breath and pushed her chair back to stand. She grabbed the box and marched off to her bathroom with Thalia in tow.

She stopped at the bathroom door so suddenly that Thalia slammed into her back. "I don't need help Thalia! I think I can pee on a stick on my own!"

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly. "I will be waiting on the balcony for you," And with that, Thalia turned on her heels and walked back toward the balcony door.

Annabeth sighed again and walked into the large bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She leaned back against the door for a minute and looked at the box in her hands. She decided she had better get this over with. The sooner she knew for sure, the sooner she could come up with a plan of action to tell Percy.

She quickly ripped the box open and read the instructions. "Morning pee is best but if you are far enough along, it will not make a difference in your outcome," She read breathily to herself.

Annabeth quickly did as the instructions stated and then set the stick down on the counter. She looked at her watch and decided she needed away from the stick that held her future and she quickly ran out to the balcony with Thalia.

* * *

Percy had decided that since Thalia was here, he was going to leave work early so that he could not only spend some much needed cuddle time with Annabeth, but some quality time with his cousin.

Percy walked into the suite and noticed that it was quiet, which was odd when Annabeth was with Thalia. As he walked farther into the home he shared with Annabeth, he could see the girls out on the balcony. He decided that he would shower first to get the smell of the aquarium off of him before he stepped outside to hang with the girls. Annabeth had been a little sensitive to smells since getting sick the other day and the last thing he wanted was to make her sick again.

Percy was distracted when he walked into the bathroom and didn't notice the box or the stick on the counter. He stripped off his shirt, started the water in the shower and walked back to the closet to grab a clean towel when he finally noticed the box sitting there, staring at him.

He stepped closer to the counter and saw the stick sitting there, and with a shaking hand he carefully picked it up to see one word boldly staring at him.

"ANNABETH!"

* * *

The girls sat in silence while Annabeth looked at her watch. This was the slowest five minutes of her life. She closed her eyes and leaned back into the cushion of the chair. "What am I going to do Thals," She finally questioned her friend.

"I think the question should be, what are you and Percy going to do. You can't leave him out of the decision seeing as how it's his baby as well," She answered nonchalantly.

"And if he doesn't want it? Then what?" Annabeth could feel the tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. 'Oh God, here come the emotions again!'

"You will cross that bridge when you tell him."

"ANNABETH!"

Both girls froze in place.

"When the hell did he get home," Thalia whispered harshly.

Annabeth was completely frozen, by the sound in Percy's voice she knew what the stick said and she knew what Percy was going to say to her.


	15. Chapter 15

Please bear with me on these updates. Life is insane right now and probably will be until Christmas break. I am trying my best to get at least a chapter a week up on both stories but I seem to be failing at that at the moment.

phantom753 - Your plot twist just got a little more interesting this chapter! At least I hope anyway.

So anywho, read, review and enjoy.

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

"ANNABETH! GET IN HERE PLEASE!"

Percy was pacing in the bathroom, his heart racing. He never knew that one little stick could scare the hell out of him so much. He turned his back on the door as he started to pace again.

" **AN-NA-BETH CHASE!** " He knew his voice sounded harsh as he over annunciated each syllable of her name but at this moment he didn't really care.

He turned around to find her white as a ghost, arms up at her shoulders in an _'I concede'_ sort of way with Thalia looking on in an annoying sort of way.

He couldn't talk now that she was standing in front of him. His brain was screaming at him to ask her what was going on but words were just escaping him at the moment.

Annabeth couldn't tell what he was thinking. She tried to read his eyes but they seemed to be full of every emotion under the sun at the given moment. She wondered if he had actually looked at the stick on the counter or if he just saw the box and flipped.

She sucked in a deep breath and took a step toward Percy and the stick that held their fate.

Percy finally spoke up, "Is it true?" His voice was soft and quiet as he tried to read her eyes.

"Well, considering your reaction to it, I am going to say yes," She in turn was quiet with her response and dropped her head. "I am sorry Perce. I thought we were being careful enough to avoid this."

Percy instantly rushed forward and pulled her into his arms. He could tell she was on the verge of tears and suddenly the last week made sense to him. "You don't have anything to be sorry for babe. This is just as much my fault. I did this to you."

"Oh good God! When you two are done being whatever this form of disgusting sappy is, you will be able to find me in the living room watching a movie!"

"Seriously Thal? What, were you expecting us to scream and yell about this or what?" Percy gently pushed Annabeth away from him and he was suddenly annoyed with his cousin and found himself wishing that she were back home in New York.

"Well, I was expecting more than this," Thalia wailed as she flung her arms around in front of her, motioning at him and Annabeth.

"Go watch your movie Thal. I need to talk to Percy alone," Annabeth snapped at her best friend.

Thalia was about to retort but the glare she received from Annabeth made her snap her mouth shut sharply.

"Well, I will just be in the other room then. You know where to find me," She whined as she turned on her heel and headed toward the living room.

Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and started to pull her out of the bathroom. On their way to the bedroom she grabbed the stick holding their fates. She needed to see it for herself.

Percy sat down on the bed and pulled Annabeth down with him. She sat down next to him with her head down, hands running over the back of the small stick.

Percy slowly put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He watched her intently as she finally flipped the stick over in her hands.

The breath caught in her throat as one word glared back at her. Her mind was racing in a million different directions and suddenly she was overcome with emotion and started crying. ' _Damn these pregnancy hormones_ ," She thought angrily as she tried to catch her breath.

Percy pulled her head to his chest and she could feel his heart racing against her cheek. "What are we going to do Percy?"

"What do **you** want to do?" He rubbed her back gently. He knew what he wanted to do but he wanted to know what her answer was before he even gave his opinion.

"Do not lay this all on me Perce. That's not fair. I cannot make a decision like that when it affects the both of us," She cried into his chest.

Percy sat quietly, rubbing her back, trying to calm her sobs. They sat that way for several minutes before Annabeth was calm enough to speak again.

"Answer this for me," She requested as she sat up and looked him in the eyes. He simply nodded and she continued, "If this decision were left completely up to you, what would **you** want to do?"

He looked into her gray eyes, they were stormy at the moment, like the weight of the world was swirling around in them. He removed his hand from her back and gently cupped her face in both of them. "If this were completely left up to me, I would say keep it. That is our baby. A perfect part of you and screwed up part of me." Percy smiled at the last line and watched as her eyes began to calm ever so slightly. "Now, answer my question and we will see if we can find a compromise." Annabeth nodded and he asked, "What do **you** want to do?"

Annabeth sigh and pushed her face into his hands a little harder, a tear pushed its way out of her eye. "As much as every fiber in my being says we can't do this right now, I cannot get rid of a perfect part of you and the screwed up part of me."

She opened her eyes and looked into Percy's sea green orbs. The currents of the ocean moving within them and she could see the happiness flooding through them. "I know we aren't ready for this though."

"Do you love me Annabeth?" Concern was flooding his voice and features.

"Why would you ask that? Of course I love you Percy!"

Percy pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, "Because, I love you more than anything and together we will make everything work. Do you understand me?"

Annabeth nodded and leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips.

Percy returned the kiss with gentle pressure and then pulled away and smiled at her. "We're having a baby!"

* * *

"So what am I doing here?" Thalia looked around the room uncomfortably and tried to sink back into the seat even more.

"You are here for moral support. Shut up and deal." Annabeth didn't even look up at her friend but instead continued to flip through her book.

"I get the feeling these women in here think that I am **your** girlfriend and not in the 'best' sort of way you if you get my drift."

Annabeth dropped her book into her lap and smiled at Thalia. "Oh honey, stop being so insecure!" She then patted Thalia on the thigh and picked up her book, a smile spreading from ear to ear.

Thalia on the other hand burned scarlet, her cheeks tinting deep red at what Annabeth just said. She noticed several ladies looking ever at them and under her breath she said, "I hate you Annie, I really hate you."

"You love me and you know it, now suck it up and deal. I didn't want Percy here for this. Not yet. I need to know what to expect." Her eyes went back to her book and then to her friend. "Don't look at me like that."

"What? You already slept with the man Annabeth, like he hasn't seen it all already!"

Now it was Annabeth's turn to blush. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and the tips of her ears burned. "You know I don't like to be caught off guard by things. Just bear with me please."

Thalia just nodded and rolled her eyes. "You can be a real freak sometimes Annie."

Annabeth ignored her, even though a small smile played at her lips.

"Annabeth Chase," A short, brunette nurse called for a door across the room. "Annabeth?"

Annabeth quickly stood up and gathered her purse and book and then grabbed Thalia by the hand and practically pulled her across the office.

The nurse smiled and held the door open for the both of them and said sweetly, "Chin up hon! Y'all are having a baby!"

Thalia reached forward and smacked Annabeth in the back of the head.

"That is no way to treat your partner!"

Annabeth couldn't hold it in anymore and she busted out laughing. "Sorry. She's not my partner. She's my best friend and here for moral support."

"Ah . . ." The nurse trailed off and flushed almost violet. "I am sorry. I just assumed."

"It's okay," Annabeth said through a fit of giggles.

"Okay, so I need your height, weight and vitals before we go into the room and prepare for the doctor to see you."

Annabeth nodded and quickly complied with the nurse so they could get into the room all the sooner. After about five minutes they were headed into a small room with two chairs, a large gray medical bed and small ultrasound machine with a rolling stool pushed up under the stand the machine was on.

"Okay, so, since you aren't very far along according to what you wrote down in your questionnaire, there will be a vaginal ultrasound to make sure the sack is at the right size for what you have here. So I need you to strip from the waist down and hop up here on the bed. You can cover up with this sheet." The nurse patted the sheet lying in the middle of the bed and then walked to the door. "We will be back in about five minutes!" And with that, the chipper young woman was gone.

"Good God, that woman was overly perky," Thalia declared as she plopped down in a chair next to the bed.

Annabeth simply smiled. "Well in case you haven't noticed, pretty much everyone in this state is like that." She finished her statement by throwing her folded up clothes into Thalia's face.

"They haven't rubbed off on you," She complained as she threw the clothes into the chair next to her.

There was a sudden knock on the door and a man who couldn't have been more than in his mid-thirties peeked his through. "We all ready in here?"

Annabeth nodded and he walked in with the nurse behind him.

"I am Dr. Boscoe and I will be with you on this crazy journey you are now embarking on," The man said as he walked across the room, holding his hand out to her.

She took his hand and suddenly she was nervous. This was all new territory to her. Sure she had been to the gynecologist before, but this was a little different.

The doctor quickly sat down on the little rolling stool and then flipped open her chart. He then pulled a little wheel out of his front pocket and moved the inner portion of the wheel around. He looked up at her and smiled sweetly. "So, according to everything here, this is your first baby, correct?"

Annabeth smiled weakly and nodded.

"And your last cycle started on September fourth?"

She nodded once again and waited for him to get on with the program. She needed to know what was going on in her body.

"That puts your estimated due date on June tenth." He smiled as he looked up from her chart and the little wheel he had been looking at earlier.

"God that seems so far away and yet so close all at the same time."

The doctor smiled and nodded back at her. "Well, I want to have a quick peek, just to make sure that we are on track size wise and that there are no discrepancies." He was quiet for a moment as he pushed his chair backward and positioned himself at the foot of the bed. "Cadence, a little help please?"

The nurse quickly came over from the corner she had been hiding in and helped him lower the last section of the bed. It folded neatly underneath and they each pulled out a stirrup from the side. Cadence continued to help Annabeth get her feet into the stirrups and lower her rear to the edge as the doctor moved back to the ultrasound machine. He lengthened a few cords and then rolled it to the new end of the bed. He positioned himself between her legs and Annabeth's cheeks flushed. Percy was the only man she willingly allowed down there and she was suddenly glad it was Thalia with her and not her boyfriend to see her discomfort at that fact.

"Cadence, let's get this ready," He exclaimed as he held up a rather odd looking instrument. Annabeth and Thalia watched as Cadence quickly draped a condom and a ton of blue gel on top.

"This, ladies, is an ultrasound wand. This will allow me to see into your uterus, because at this point, you are only five weeks and your uterus has not moved high enough out of the pelvis to do the outer ultrasound. Now Annabeth, this is going to be cold and most likely a little uncomfortable. I need you to stay relaxed."

Annabeth nodded and waited and then jolted as she felt the cold weirdness descend upon her. She tried to see the screen the doctor was looking at, but it was angled just enough that all she could see was a bit of gray on the screen.

"Hmmm . . . are you positive about your last menstrual cycle start date?"

Annabeth resisted the urge to sit up and asked as calmly as she could, "Yes, why?"

"Because this screen says otherwise!" He quickly turned the machine so both Annabeth and Thalia could both see what was going on.

Annabeth was confused at what she was seeing but Thalia was not. She started off as sonographer before finding her calling as an EMT. Thalia knew her eyes were more than likely the size of saucers and before she knew it she let out, "Oh holy shit!"


	16. Chapter 16

Again, updating as fast as I can! So much work, not enough hours in the day for me to complete it all! So enjoy this late update and let me know what you think is going on!

Guest - Thanks so much! Glad you love the story!

Guest - Not sure if you are the same as the last one or not, but keep reading to find out what is going :p

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

"Does anyone want to tell me what exactly I am looking at?"

"You're having twins," Thalia belted out before the doctor could say anything. She stood up from her chair and leaned over Annabeth toward the screen. "This is Baby A," She said as she drew an imaginary circle around the baby on her left, "And this is Baby B," she said as she repeated the process to the baby on the right.

The doctor smiled and nodded at everything Thalia said and she quickly blushed. "Sorry, I was a sonographer in a former life. I didn't mean to steal your job."

"No harm," He said smiling. "We do have a little bit of an issue though, which I am sure you have noticed by now," He added as he nodded at Thalia. Thalia just nodded and sat back down in her chair.

"What? What is wrong," Annabeth questioned, worry pouring out of her.

"You last cycle date is off. These babies are measuring right at nine weeks. Well one baby at nine weeks and two days and the other at nine weeks even. Discrepancy in size is absolutely normal in twins though. It's just a couple of days in size and not a week or more, which is when we worry. When did you start in August?"

Annabeth closed her eyes and tried to think. August was a hazy, bad dream for her but she needed to think at this moment. She thought back to her birthday and started mentally counting forward in her head. "August fifth," She finally answered.

She watched him carefully as he handed the wand over to Cadence and then went to his little wheel again. "Ah, now that lines up. You are nine weeks and two days. Your estimated due date is now May eleventh."

Annabeth was trying to stay calm. She sucked in a deep breath and asked, "When would my conception date have been?"

"I can't give you a definitive date but anywhere from August fifteenth through the twentieth. May I ask why you need to know this information?"

Annabeth choked back a sob and Thalia spoke up for her. "She was raped in the early hours of the nineteenth. I do know that she and the boyfriend had been active that same evening and several days before." The doctor gave Thalia an interesting look and she continued on, "I was with her through the questioning during the rape kit. Beside the point! I also know those twins are not identical. She could have dropped two eggs from one side or she ovulated off both sides but please tell her some good news."

The doctor sighed sadly. "Most likely these babies belong to your boyfriend," He replied as he moved out from the foot of the bed and then moved to Annabeth's side. "Your friend here said that you had engaged in intercourse several days before your rape. Most likely that is the set of sperm that made it to the eggs. We do have a blood test we can do to help determine paternity but with fraternal twins it may not be one-hundred percent accurate. The other option is to do an amniocentesis at twenty weeks and take a little DNA from both babies. An amnio can be dangerous and has been known to cause spontaneous abortions, so there is that to think about as well."

Annabeth could only nod. She was trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. Even in Texas she couldn't get away from Luke.

"You can get dressed and when you stop at the receptionist, let her know I want to see you back in two weeks." He stopped and looked down at her chart and took out a note pad. He quickly wrote down something and then handed it over to Annabeth. "Pre-natals. Take them every day as close to the same time as possible. If your morning sickness has been bad, try taking them at night rather than in the morning."

Annabeth nodded and a faint, "Thank you," escaped her lips.

"Remember, two weeks," And with that he was out the door with Nurse Cadence in tow.

Annabeth did everything she could in the doctor's office to keep a straight face. While a part of her was ecstatic, a huge part of her was beyond worried. The girls quietly made their way to Annabeth's car and she could feel Thalia throwing her looks of concern every five seconds.

Annabeth crawled into the car, started it to get the air conditioning moving and then dropped her head to the wheel and cried.

"Annie, please tell me what's wrong?"

Annabeth tried to push back her sobs but they escaped, tears pouring from her eyes and loud gulps of breath forcing their way in and out of her mouth.

Thalia carefully reached over to Annabeth and pushed her blonde curls out of the way so she could see her face. "Please talk to me," Thalia pleaded with her friend. She was honestly scared of Annabeth's behavior at the moment, fearing that she may have another meltdown like she was having back home in New York.

Annabeth tried to catch her breath but all she could do was blubber out, "What . . . what . . . what if they are Luke's?"

"First off, you heard the doctor Annabeth. They are more than likely Percy's babies hanging out in there and you know what, so what if they are Luke's. Who cares?"

"I care! I don't want to carry that monster's evil seed! I won't!" Annabeth started to hit her head on the steering wheel, lightly at first and then one harder hit that dizzied her. She decided that at this moment it was probably not best to break down.

"Annabeth, those babies didn't ask to be here. They didn't ask for Luke to **possibly** be their father either! You are talking about taking innocent lives here." Thalia leaned back in her seat and pushed her hair back out of her eyes. "At least talk to Percy first. Because if you don't I will."

Annabeth sucked in a deep breath and sat back in her seat. She racked her fingers through her hair and looked over at Thalia. "Drive for me please."

Thalia simply nodded and jumped out of the car, swapping places with her friend.

Percy was pacing his office. The text he received from Annabeth twenty minutes ago worried him. She told him they had some things to discuss and she wanted to head to the beach as soon as he got home.

He looked down at his watch again and groaned. He still had thirty minutes left and he just couldn't concentrate on anything.

"Lindsey!"

"Yeah," A female voice answered back from the office next to his.

Percy quickly walked over to her door and peeked his head in. "Hey, I have a bit of an emergency at home. I know I still have thirty minutes on the clock but do you think I can head out?"

"Yeah, Dolly will be fine without you. I honestly don't think she is going to pop any time soon. At least not today. Just keep your phone on in case I need you to come back and assist in the birth." Lindsey flashed him a smile and then shooed him out of her office.

Percy sighed and grabbed his things and made his way through the large crowd of school kids that were blocking the exit. He smiled down at the group of first graders and suddenly he couldn't wait to show his baby everything the world had to offer.

He was finally out of the building and he found himself running to his car. He was literally only five minutes from the apartment and could have made it in that time if he ran but the oppressive heat kept him from doing so. The drive to the apartment was actually longer than had he just made the run, or maybe it was just the fact that he was nervous and not sure he wanted to hear what Annabeth had to talk about with him.

After the ten minute drive and wait in traffic he was finally back at the Omni and making his way to the elevator when he ran into Thalia coming out of the car.

"Sorry Perce. Your woman up there is in a mood," She exclaimed wildly, her blue eyes flashing in annoyance.

"Where are you headed and what on earth are you talking about?"

"A. It's been a long and interesting day for us. 2. You might want to ready yourself for hormone overload. I am headed to get her chocolate, ice cream and fries, so naturally I am headed to Wendy's. C . . ." Thalia sighed and looked at him sadly before continuing on, "she is in a terrible mood. She had a mini meltdown in the car earlier just before she text you. I doubt she is going to bring it up and don't you dare tell her I told you that!"

Percy shook his head in agreeance. "Do I even want to know?"

"Well, when I get back I want to know what you talked about, I will fill you in on anything she left out because I have a feeling she might just leave some information out to suit her selfish needs right now."

Percy cocked his head to the side and looked at Thalia with utter confusion on his face. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Just go up there and be with her. She needs you and I need to get her food before she rips both of our faces off. See you in a bit." And with that she disappeared out the door to the parking garage and Percy was left to his thoughts.

He quickly made his way to their suite and quietly walked into the apartment. As he made his way farther into the living area, he could see her out on the balcony, looking out over the bay. He dropped his things and quickly made his way to the door, quietly calling her name as he stepped out to join her. "Annabeth. Do you still want to go to the beach?"

She simply shook her head no and Percy sighed. He hadn't seen her this quiet in a while and quite frankly it scared the hell out of him. She was pregnant and neither she nor the baby could handle any of the meltdowns she had back in New York.

He walked over behind her and gently pushed her princess curls out of the way and started massaging her neck and shoulders. He instantly felt the tension release in her neck as she whimpered slightly at his touch. He continued to work on her silently for a few more minutes before walking in front of her and kneeling down to be eye level with her. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth could only lean forward and hug him. She clung to him desperately, as if her life depended on him being there and Percy could tell she was on the verge of tears. Percy stood and pulled her with him, turning so that he could sit in the large lounge and then pulled her back into his lap. He cradled her like a parent cradles their baby and he wished that he could make the world perfect for her.

After several minutes Annabeth finally pulled away from him and looked into his sea green eyes. She leaned over to the patio table and grabbed the envelope she had waiting for him and handed it over to him.

"What's this?"

"Just open it," She replied shyly.

Percy did as he was told and was surprised to see the edges of a sonogram image sticking out over the top. He quickly pulled the image out and looked it over, noticing that there was something different about this sonogram. In his line of work he was used to looking at sea mammals but he knew what he was looking at and suddenly he realized that he wasn't looking at one fetus but two.

Percy pulled her close and nuzzled his face into her neck, "I love you," he whispered in her head as she turned into him. "We are having twins!"

Annabeth giggled at his enthusiasm and then sighed sadly.

He pulled her away slightly and looked into her gray orbs. They were stormy today, swirling with sadness and love all at once. "What is wrong babe? Be happy! We are starting a family! Granted it's sooner than we may have planned and one more than we were expecting but these babies are a blessing."

Annabeth allowed the tears to escape and she reached forward and cupped Percy's face in her hands as she pressed her forehead to his. "They may not be yours Perce." Annabeth closed her eyes and waited for his response.


	17. Chapter 17

Yay for me, another update in the bag. Sorry this is a bunch of filler. There shouldn't be anymore filler after this chapter. I had to get back on track. Thanks for the PMs and the reviews, I enjoy them, so keep them coming.

So read, review and enjoy and I hope to be able to make updates at least once a week now!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan or anything you might recognize such as restaurants or stores.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

Percy slowly woke to the early morning twilight and realized that he and Annabeth were a tangled mess on the sofa. The pair had spent a good chunk of the evening arguing over what they were going to do with the new found information.

Percy was desperate to hang on to his soon to be family, trying to convince Annabeth that he didn't care if the one or neither of the babies were his, that he would love them as if they were. They were a part of Annabeth and she was everything that mattered to him which meant the twins counted as well.

He sighed sadly and moved a stray curl out of her face and gingerly tucked it behind her ear. She stirred only slightly, just enough to snuggle into his chest more. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, wishing he could get up without waking her so that he could do a little research on the true facts of conception.

Percy couldn't lie there anymore and he carefully rolled so that Annabeth was no longer using him as a full body pillow. He carefully deposited her onto the sofa and then untangled his arms and legs from her. She groaned at the sudden cold and he dropped a blanket over her.

After he was positive she was going to stay asleep, he quietly padded across the suite into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He then went to the door and found his bag and pulled out his laptop. He went to the dining table and started to set up a mini work station.

It was well after dawn when Percy was startled from his research by Thalia. She had dropped a hand on to his shoulder before sitting down next to him and asking, "What are you up to cuz?"

Percy looked over at her and then leaned over the side of his chair and hugged his cousin. "I don't know how you guys do it!"

"Do what?" Thalia was beyond confused and pushed away from Percy to get a real answer out of him.

"Being a woman. My God, it sucks!"

Thalia let out a laugh and instantly covered her mouth as Percy glared at her, letting her know that Annabeth was still asleep and in close proximity. "Yes, it does suck. There is no denying that, I mean from having boobs that most guys look at instead of your eyes when you talk, to periods, getting pregnant, labor and delivery to menopause, yeah it really sucks being a woman! But you still didn't answer my question of what you are up to."

Percy sighed and shook his head as he looked back at his computer screen. "I was doing research on conception and well you know that led to all kinds of information that I really didn't want to know."

"So what did you find out?" Thalia asked curiously as she got up and moved to the kitchen and began making herself a cup of coffee.

Percy waited for her to take her seat next to him again before he began to speak quietly. "Well, I learned that it is a freaking miracle that women even get pregnant at all but beside the point. I learned that unless you do in vitro fertilization you cannot predict when a baby was conceived."

Thalia nodded at him and then waved a hand in the air telling him to get to the point with the gesture.

"Okay, there is a very real chance that one or both of these babies belong to Luke but that chance is so slim and honestly shouldn't even be a thought that crosses our minds."

"Okay genius, tell me why that is, because this is news to me."

"The need to procreate. Human nature. Whatever you want to call it. It's a man thing apparently. We were unsafe twice. Yeah, I know, hang me for that later. I can't fix that, nor do I want to, but because of that, it means that more of me got to her fertilized eggs. I was also reading something about sperm forming a barrier of sorts and attacking any new sperm that enters the playing field so that the original group can go forth and do their job. It's a protection thing. So if that is the case, they are mine." Percy crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at his cousin, quite proud of his findings.

"So, you need to convince her not to do anything stupid. The doctor did say there was a simple blood test they could do but that it was usually not accurate with fraternal twins. He wanted her back in two weeks. Did she even mention any of that last night in your arguing?"

"You heard all of that huh?"

"I am pretty sure half the Omni heard part of that argument last night Perce." Thalia leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest and looked toward the sofa where Annabeth was still sleeping. "I wish she would just see what a blessing she has been given. I know you do, obviously or you wouldn't be fighting so hard with her over this with her."

Percy pushed his chair back a bit and then patted Thalia on the knee. He was always uncomfortable when he knew she was hinting at her loss. He never knew what to say to her but if he couldn't convince Annabeth to hang on to these babies, he was going to know all too well how she felt.

"So, did she mention anything about having to go back in two weeks?"

"Yeah, she finally told me when I asked if there was any type of early genetic testing we could do to find out if I was their father or not. The fact that she was going to keep that to herself worries me. I don't want her to not tell me things."

Thalia sighed and picked up her coffee, carefully taking a drink of the hot liquid. "I wish I could make her see."

"Make her see what?"

Her blues eyes looked up from her cup and to Percy's sea green eyes trying to convey to him what she wanted to say without actually saying it. "That this isn't the burden she is making it out to be. That those babies will change her life for the better not for the worse, no matter who the father is." Tears welled in the corners of her eyes and she willed herself not to let them fall but it did her no good. "I never wanted Luke. I never said yes despite what he told me but I never wanted to get rid of my baby. He was the innocent one in all of the mess. He didn't ask to be here and it was my job to protect him and I couldn't even do that Perce. How on earth is that fair?"

Percy watched as Thalia's blue eyes seemed to spark at the memories that were flooding her. He watched as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks, leaving salty rivers as they moved. He knew all too well the relationship with Luke took on her and the miscarriage that happened at twenty-two weeks almost killed her mentally and physically but she managed to carry on. She managed to get through it all and come out a better person.

He leaned over and hugged her again and this time she cried into his shoulder. "I am sorry I wasn't there for you more or in the way you needed me to be. I am sorry for everything you have been through."

Percy was quiet as he listened to his cousin's whimpers and he wondered how much of her life she had shared with Annabeth. Maybe if she opened up to her, Annabeth would see things differently. "How much of this does Annabeth know about? I think maybe you could help her through this more than I can."

Thalia hiccupped and sucked in several deep breaths before speaking. "I never told her any of it. She never seemed like she would be able to help much. Anxiety gets to her quickly, in case you haven't noticed. Plus threats from Luke pretty much made me keep my mouth shut."

"Promise me you will talk to her. It doesn't have to be now or even before you leave tomorrow, but just promise you will do it."

Thalia nodded and hugged Percy. "Thanks Perce. I needed to vent. This whole thing just got to me."

"Totally understand. Now, what was on the agenda for today? I need a break from all of . . . this," Percy exclaimed as he moved his hands around gesturing to the entire room.

Thalia set down her cup and tried to wipe her face off with the backs of her hands. "I think we were just going to hit the beach for a little while and bug you at work. You know, free behind the scenes tour of the dolphins and what not. I wouldn't be surprised if she just wants to stay in now."

Percy looked at Thalia sadly and nodded before she replied, "I will do my best to get her out of the house. Are you still going in to work or did you take today off?"

"I already called in to Lindsey. Told her I may be in later but wasn't sure. She was fine with it, so whatever we do, we need to get her out of the house." The pair sat quietly for a minute and Percy spoke up, "I think a trip out to the mall might be necessary. I have an idea. Go wake her up while I get breakfast going and then we can get ready and head out."

"Whatever you say. As long as today is not full of any more tears, I am in."

* * *

"Come on Annabeth, get moving," Percy said encouragingly to his girlfriend.

Annabeth stood in front of the closet mirror, looking at her silhouette. Percy walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. He watched as she sighed and then leaned back into him. "Are you seeing this?"

Percy kissed the side of her neck and tried to figure out what it was she was talking about. He looked her over in the mirror and then moved his arms out of the way. It was at that moment that he noticed what she was talking about. Peeking through her tight tank top was the slightest bump, barely visible unless you knew her body really well. Percy placed his hand on the bump and smiled at her in the mirror. "Yes I do and it's beautiful, so don't you think otherwise."

Annabeth closed her eyes and wished that things could be that simple. She didn't want to fight with Percy right now. She just wanted to pretend that things were normal, that things would be easy and that this new life with Percy would be a good one, but with the thought of Luke hiding in the corner of her mind she knew that it wasn't going to be easy. All she had to do was pretend to be happy for two weeks until the blood tests came back and then they could take the next step. It would be easy for her to pretend to be happy. She had been doing it her entire life. Sure there were times when she truly was happy but right now, things hurt too much and going back to cutting was not going to be an option despite the release she needed at the moment.

"Come on Beth. Let's go hit the mall for a bit. I think you could use a small spending spree."

"A little B&B spree would be nice," She replied airily.

"Sounds good. You ready to go? Got everything for the beach and all of the other fun stuff we have planned for today?"

Annabeth nodded and pointed into the living area of the suit, "It's all in there already. Just waiting on Thalia to get ready. You know how slow she can be."

"Hey, I resent that statement," a muffled voice replied from across the suite.

Percy quickly pulled away from Annabeth and went into the entryway to retrieve his keys as he stated, "Ladies, there is no need to fight. Let's just accept the fact that both of you are slow as dirt and have no clue what it means to be on time unless it is work related!"

"You're lucky that you are A. cute and B. that you moved away from like you did because I totally should hit you for that comment!"

Thalia emerged from her place in the guest bathroom and snuck up behind Percy and quickly smacked him across the back of the head. "There, I hit him hard enough for the both of us!"

"You suck Thals. Plain and simple."

The girls smirked as they walked past Percy and made their way out of the suite and down to the parking garage with Percy bringing up the rear. The rest of the morning went off without a hitch as they browsed the Padre Staples Mall.

Annabeth led the way most of the time, dragging the group into Barnes and Noble and several clothing stores. She allowed Thalia to drag them into Hot Topic and then they stopped in at Bath and Body Works. The girls were ready to head out for lunch when Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand a started to pull her in the opposite direction.

"Perce, the food court is the other way."

"I know, I have one place I want to stop in and I definitely want you to go with me."

Annabeth placed her free hand on her belly and Percy laughed as her stomach rumbled.

"We will be quick, I promise, and then the three of you can eat." Percy watched her carefully as a small smile played at the corner of her lips. "Come on." Percy began tugging at her hand again and she fell in line with is steps as Thalia stepped up behind them.

Percy stopped in front of a children's clothing store and opened the door for both women. He watched as the breath caught in Annabeth's throat for a moment and she froze slightly before stepping foot into the store.

"You got her in here, so that's a small victory right?"

Percy simply nodded at Thalia and then stepped in and made his way to Annabeth's side again. He slipped his hand back into hers and led her over to a wall full of stuffed animals. "Do you want to know?"

"Want to know what?" She was lost in thought as she eyeballed a sweet milk chocolate teddy bear with a lavender ribbon around its neck that was looking straight at her.

"What they are? Do you want to know? We will get the chance to find out right around Christmas right?"

Annabeth pulled her eyes from the bear slowly and looked over at Percy. She could see the love in his eyes and she didn't want to disappoint him with the wrong answer. She was only trying to get through the next two weeks before deciding on what the next move should be and here he was trying to figure out the sex of the babies. He really was planning a future with them.

She turned and looked back at the bear again, reaching out and pulling it off the shelf. She cradled the bear to her and looked up at Percy before speaking softly, "I am pretty sure one is a girl. The other still eludes me at the moment, but I am almost positive there is a girl hiding in there. So to answer your question, yes I do want to know what they are." _'As long as the blood tests or if need be amnio say they are yours,'_ She thought sadly, and she smiled so that Percy wouldn't catch on to her act.

Percy smiled at his girlfriend and then pulled another bear off the shelf, identical in color only sporting a soft yellow ribbon. "Their first lovies," He said with a sheepish grin and Annabeth pulled him in for a light kiss on the cheek and a hug.

Percy pulled away from her and smiled brightly at her. She tried to return the smile and prayed that he couldn't see through the barrier she was building to protect herself from any news she didn't want to hear.


	18. Chapter 18

It's time for NaNo and my writing class has to participate...So on top of the two stories I have here, assignments and now Nano, I am slowly losing my mind! Looking at filler again. Sorry. Drama is coming, just have to get there first!

Also, thank you for all of the follows and faves! I appreciate them! Leave a review if you feel inclined and bear with the insanity of this month! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

Annabeth tossed and turned in her sleep, trying to wake herself from the nightmare that plagued her but she couldn't get her eyes to budge. They simply refused to open.

 _Annabeth heard the sounds of infant cries and instantly started down the long hallway toward them. The closer she got to the cries, the more panicked they sounded to her and she began to run. She threw herself into the only room with its door opened and she stopped dead in her tracks. There in the middle of the room was Luke, holding her baby._

 _"_ _Hello Annie. Did you miss me?"_

 _Annabeth's heart raced and she tried to find her voice. She opened her mouth to respond, only to find the air catch in her throat._

 _"_ _She looks like me, don't you think?"_

 _Annabeth shook her head and finally found her voice. "No she doesn't. She belongs to Percy, now give her to me," She demanded angrily as she stepped toward him with her arms out._

 _"_ _Oh no Annie. This one is definitely mine. From the dark blonde hair to the blueish gray eyes, this little one belongs to me and she is going home with me! Now that dark headed one over there is definitely the douche bag's kid. Feel free to keep that one. But this one, yes she is definitely mine."_

 _"_ _No," She cried as she lunged at him, trying to get her daughter away from him._

"Annabeth! Wake up," Percy cried as he tried to dodge her flailing limbs. " **BETH**!"

Annabeth bolted straight up and clamped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.

Percy pulled her close and she buried her face in his chest and started to cry. She closed her eyes and the image of Luke holding her baby returned and the tears turned to sobs as she tried desperately to control herself.

"Shhhhhhh, babe, it was just a dream. You're fine." Percy whispered to her as he stroked her hair and gently rubbed her back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head no and tangled her fingers around his shirt as she pulled him closer to her. She allowed his presence to comfort her as the sobs slowly subsided. If this was any indication of how the rest of the pregnancy was going to go, she wanted no part of it.

She allowed Percy to pull her back down to the bed and she cuddled in close, praying for a dreamless sleep the rest of the night.

The pair woke to the alarm at six thirty, and she was thankful that the rest of the night was quiet but could instantly tell that her eyes were swollen from the sobs. They remained quiet all morning, Annabeth trying to avoid bringing up the topic of the nightmare and Percy just trying to keep from saying the wrong thing and upsetting her even more.

They pulled up to the aquarium and Percy walked her over to the make shift office that was set up for her. He pulled her in for a hug and whispered, "I love you. I will pick you up for lunch and we can head over to the doctor's office." He lightly kissed her neck and smiled as he felt the shivers run down her spine and she sighed in content.

Annabeth leaned into him and hugged him tightly. "Sorry about last night. And sounds good." She slowly pulled away and as Percy turned to walk away she said, "Oh, and by the way, I love you too." Percy smiled back at her and took off toward his usual place, the dolphin tanks.

She spent the rest of the morning running between two exhibits that were quickly getting off schedule and found herself exhausted in her office just minutes before lunch. All she wanted to do was take a nap but between the lunch date with Percy and her doctor appointment at one, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to get one in today.

A sudden knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts and Percy poked his head in smiling at her. His smile quickly dropped when he saw the look on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just exhausted already. Let's go before I pass out on the desk." She quickly stood and gathered her things and made her way toward Percy.

Percy wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the car. He opened the door for her and bowed as he said, "Your carriage, my lady," just as he had done the night of her birthday.

Annabeth laughed and ruffled his hair as she slowly sat down in the car. "How sweet, my dork is back," she replied lightly.

"I never left," He whispered softly. He knew that was probably the wrong thing to say with her sensitivity level being insanely high lately but he didn't care.

She smiled weakly at him, knowing his statement was true. She was the one who had pushed him and everyone else away and yet somehow he was still holding on to her. She wasn't sure why. All she knew was that if someone was treating her the way she was treating him, that she would have been gone a long time ago. She hated to admit it but she didn't deserve him. She didn't deserve anything he did or gave her right now.

The couple ate a quick lunch, Percy trying to keep the topics light, knowing that she was beyond nervous about the blood test results. He still didn't care what the results led them to, as long as the babies were healthy. Percy pulled the car into a massive parking lot thirty minutes later and he allowed Annabeth to lead him to the doctor's office that was situated inside the medical building in front of them.

"Is this where we will go from here on out?" He looked at her cautiously out of the corner of his eye and she simply nodded.

They reached the entrance to the building and he held the door open for her, following behind her as she led the way to the elevators. He watched as she pressed the up arrow for the car and stepped in behind her as soon as the doors opened. "What floor?"

"Two," she replied as she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.

Percy quickly hit the button and stood next to her, once again wrapping an arm around her waist. The car lurched upward and she quickly popped a hand over her mouth. "Maybe lunch first was a bad idea."

She slowly nodded and tried to breathe slowly, as the nausea began to subside. "I don't think all of the stress is helping any either."

The car jolted to a stop and Percy pulled her close to steady her as she groaned into his shoulder. She slowly led him out of the car and down the hall to the doctor's office and checked in. She filled out the note on the check in station as quickly as possible and then went to sit next to Percy.

He dropped an arm over her shoulder and he felt her tense ever so slightly next to him. He tried to ignore the feeling but it was hard to when she started bouncing her left foot, causing his body to shake. He lightly placed his other hand on her knee and smiled at her. "Calm down babe. Everything will be fine."

Before Annabeth could respond, her name was called by her same nurse from two weeks previous. The couple got up and followed behind the nurse. "So, this is going to be the drill every time you come in. Weight and vitals and then we will head back to the room and make sure that everything is okay with your little ones."

Nurse Cadence was a little to perky for Annabeth's mood at the moment but she plastered a fake smile on her face and nodded in agreement as she did exactly as she was told.

"So everything is good so far. This way Ms. Chase and Mr . . ." she trailed off as she looked curiously at Percy.

"Oh, sorry. Jackson. Percy Jackson."

"Alright then, this way Ms. Chase and Mr. Jackson." She led them farther down the hall than they had gone the first time she came in but the room was identical to her first room. "We will sort of have the same routine each time you come in. Strip from the waist down, drape the sheet over you and wait for us to come back in. Plus side, we shouldn't have to use the wand anymore. I know that sucker is not all that comfortable."

Percy shot Annabeth a weird look at the mention of the word wand and she shrugged his look off. "Here is the sheet, and we will be back in just a few minutes." The nurse left the room in a flurry and left Annabeth standing by the edge of the bed blushing.

She quickly stripped and hopped up on the bed, tossing Percy her clothes as she did so. Just as she covered up there was a knock on the door. "Come in," She said lightly, hoping that Percy wasn't sensing just how nervous she was about the upcoming blood test and how worried she was that there would be a discrepancy.

"Hello there!" The doctor said enthusiastically and she watched as Percy jumped up to shake his hand introduce himself. "So, Annabeth, how have you been feeling?"

She shrugged and looked at her doctor, "Still a little nauseous from time to time. The elevator really doesn't help."

The doctor laughed lightly and replied, "You aren't the first to tell me that about the elevator. So, I am going to get measurement from your pelvic bone to the top of your uterus before we move on to hearing their heartbeats for the first time. I think I will also do a quick ultrasound, just to make sure things are okay and so dad here can get a peek at his babies."

"Will we still be able to get the blood work for paternity today as well?" Annabeth was too quick to ask her question and Percy shot her a look.

"Definitely. We will do a blood draw from the both of you after all is said and done. I will get Cadence to write the lab orders up for you right now while I check on everything. Sound good." He waited a moment and the pair nodded as he pulled out a small measuring tape and then folded the sheet back exposing Annabeth's lower abdomen. He quickly moved the measuring tape over her and then moved back to her chart writing down something that she couldn't see.

"Can you tell me what you are measuring?"

The doctor turned back to her and smiled. "The size of your uterus. It's just another way to make sure that things are on track. You should measure a centimeter for every week you are pregnant but since you are carrying twins, your measurements should always be a bit larger than normal until you get to the third trimester and the babies really start putting on the weight. Right now you are measuring right at 12 centimeters which is okay."

The couple nodded as the doctor put the measuring tape away and then moved to pull out another instrument. "So this is our fetal Doppler. Let's listen and see how these little ones are doing, shall we."

He busied himself by getting the Doppler ready and then he nodded at Cadence who was hiding at the back of the room. She walked over with a bottle of gel and before she poured a glob on Annabeth she smiled over at her. "Don't worry, this batch has been on the warmer."

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, remembering the odd coldness from two weeks before. Before she knew it the room was filled with what sounded like radio white noise before a strange fast fluttering took over the small speaker.

Percy spoke up as he listened to the strange noise fill the room. "Is that the heartbeat?"

The doctor nodded and replied, "Yes sir. One hundred and fifty eight beats a minute. Totally normal for this gestation. Now let's see if I can find Baby B." The room fell quiet again as he moved the Doppler around on her lower abdomen and suddenly Annabeth was worried. It has been several minutes since they heard Baby A and she was beginning to wonder if something was wrong when the strange fluttering noise returned. "That little one is hiding in there but a good heart rate of one hundred and fifty two beats per minute. I think I am going to go ahead and run the ultra sound. I want to make sure all is well with Baby B."

Her doctor quickly handed the Doppler over to Cadence and he moved to the large screen. This time he pulled out the hand held wand and ran it over her belly as the screen flickered on. Instantly Percy recognized the twins and a smile spread across his face.

The doctor turned the screen so the couple could better see their babies and he pressed a button on the computer in front of him, turning small sections of the screen red. "That is their heart beats. They are good and strong and I see nothing to worry about. Baby A is still measuring dead on at eleven weeks and two days while Baby B has actually passed A and is measuring eleven weeks four days. You are feeding them well Ms. Chase!"

Percy smiled and looked to his girlfriend to see a worry look plastered on her face. "What's wrong babe?"

"Hmmm?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just lost in thought. Dr. Boscoe, when do we get the results of the blood tests back?"

"Oh," He paused for a moment, as he was cleaning gel off of her abdomen, "you will get a call from the lab some time Monday with the results. I do have to remind you, you are carrying fraternal twins. They are most likely going to have different blood types which will make the tests come back inconclusive. That doesn't mean that Mr. Jackson here is not their father. If you are really that worried about their paternity, there is the amnio test you can do between fifteen and twenty weeks. I personally, would not risk my children's lives with one though."

"Why exactly is that?" Annabeth ignored the ugly look Percy gave her and continued on with her questions. "What happens with the amnio that makes it's so dangerous."

"Well, we are literally shoving a fairly thick, hollow, three inch needle into the amniotic sack. Pain levels vary greatly and I will do everything possible to avoid the baby, but I can't make promises because the baby can always move. After the procedure you would have to take it easy for at least three days. No heavy lifting, no sex and no flying. Cramping is common and if it gets really intense or continues with bleeding, you may be miscarrying. Fever is also a sign of infection. You will also have to go through this twice which doubles your risks. I will have to monitor heart rates and movements for at least an hour afterward to make sure they are still behaving as normal. It takes about two weeks to get back every test we do with an amnio and that includes the paternity test."

Annabeth tried to swallow but her throat was dry. She knew Percy was throwing daggers at her with his eyes but she needed to know what her next step was going to be. There was no way she was going to wait to the end of the pregnancy to find out if she was carrying Luke's babies or not.

"I don't foresee us needing the amnio but thank you for all of the information Dr. Boscoe." Percy flashed a kind smile. "When does she need to come back?"

"Three weeks. That should put you at fourteen weeks and then we will go to four weeks and by twenty-two weeks I will want to see you every two weeks. Once you hit thirty weeks, I will want you in every week. I will remind you every time I see you so you don't need to try to remember all of this off the top of your head." The doctor watched as the couple nodded at him and smiled, "Now, get dressed and Cadence will take you down to the lab. I will see you in three weeks. Enjoy the last little bit of summer you two." And with that Dr. Boscoe was out the door.

"I will be waiting out in the hall for the two of you," Nurse Cadence stated as she quietly stepped out of the door.

Percy waited for the door to shut completely before turning on Annabeth. "What the hell was all of that?"

Annabeth took her clothes from him and quickly slipped them back on. "Not now Percy. Not here."

"No, now!"

"Percy, please don't start. I just wanted information in case the blood tests came back less than satisfactory. I don't want to fight and I don't want to be in tears the rest of the day at work, so can we please just drop this until this evening?" Her voice and eyes pleading with him.

He sighed heavily. "Fine," He replied dryly as he followed her out of the room.


End file.
